Login
|
Join PoetrySoup
Home
Submit Poems
Login
Sign Up
Member Home
My Poems
My Quotes
My Profile & Settings
My Inboxes
My Outboxes
Soup Mail
Contest Results/Status
Contests
Poems
Poets
Famous Poems
Famous Poets
Dictionary
Types of Poems
Videos
Resources
Syllable Counter
Articles
Forum
Blogs
Poem of the Day
New Poems
Anthology
Grammar Check
Greeting Card Maker
Classifieds
Quotes
Short Stories
Member Area
Member Home
My Profile and Settings
My Poems
My Quotes
My Short Stories
My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder
Soup Social
Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us
Member Poems
Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Random
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread
Member Poets
Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest
Famous Poems
Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100
Famous Poets
Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War
Poetry Resources
Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter
Email Poem
Your IP Address: 3.133.106.206
Your Email Address:
Required
Email Address Not Valid.
To Email Address:
Email Address Not Valid.
Required
Subject
Required
Personal Note:
Poem Title:
Poem
To run honorably, or not to run honorably--those are my options: Whether ‘tis wiser in the main to malign The lives and motives of my foes Or to defend myself against their charges, And by defending . . . buoy them? To taint--to smear? Perhaps. And by these means to goad the field To err with thoughtless, scurrilous gibes That mark them petty--a scenario Most certainly to my gain. To taint--to smear. To smear, perchance to rouse? O, there’s the risk! For if I soil their names, what harm may come Should they then probe my dark impulses Prompts me to hold. Thus the upshot Is that defamation circles back. Why would he brook my lies on fraud and bribes, That one his bullying ways and past as shameless rake, This one’s bent for backroom deals, that wife’s excess, His countenance of graft, this other’s fancy homes And malnourished dogs near death in household pens, And not at once retort about my specious provenance, Which would cut badly? I might slanders sling And smirch and slime without a conscience tug, But that the fear of fire coming back, An incendiary charge from whose blast No candidate survives, stays my hand And has me at a loss for what to sow Than turn to libels that may come back in tens. Thus caution keeps me playing not to lose; And thus my sordid plan to lie and bait Is sidelined now for fear of what I’d reap. And chicanery of such guile and lure, A tack denied, puts victory at risk, And boosts the case for cheating. Shush now, fool; the cleric starts his homily.
CAPTCHA Preview
Type the characters you see in the picture
Required