Mark Toney Poet Light Verse

Notes About The Poem

December 4, 2019, F G I series 22 comic, sponsored by Brian Strand

Published on November 15, 2023, in PoetrySoup's third anthology, Reflections on the Important Things, Copyright © 2023 by Arczis Web Technologies, Inc. The poems contained therein are copyright of their respective authors.

This image was created with the assistance of DALL·E 3

The Emperor Has No Prose

The Emperor Has No Prose

An emperor spoke in poetic verse
Which led to fame for him at first
But after some time, it became a curse
For the Emperor had no prose.

Poetic measure determined his fate
The body politic could not relate
Leaving people in a befuddled state
Yes, the Emperor had no prose.

Seeking solutions from all his wise men
Beseeching them each, again and again
"When will poetic proclivity end?
For I'm the Emperor and have no prose!"

Long and hard, the wise men thought
With no answers to the solutions sought
So they hemmed and hawed, yelled, argued and fought,
Still, the Emperor had no prose.

The Emperor ended his quest in time
No cure for his affliction could he find
Relinquished the throne and became a mime
At least he was able to pose!

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Sam Kauffman July 21, 2026 at 10:46 AM This is so clever, Mark! Made me smile this morning! Hope you are well. Blessings to you! Mark Toney July 21, 2026 at 2:11 PM Thank you for such a nice comment, Sam. A smile in the morning is gold. ;-)

Gary Radice July 11, 2026 at 4:51 AM To think I would have missed reading this had you not been able to pin it to the top of your poem list. Ticks all the rhyming story telling for me and loved that kicker of an ending. Great read. Cheers - Gary Mark Toney July 21, 2026 at 2:17 PM Gary, I didn’t realize you had given me a second comment the same day. Much appreciated. PS has made it easier to engage more with the recent changes. Cheers! Gary Radice July 11, 2026 at 5:41 AM I didn't realise that you can pin more than one poem at a time until I saw your page Mark. It has certainly motivated me to engage more now at Poetry Soup. Cheers - Gary Mark Toney July 11, 2026 at 5:27 AM You made my day, Gary. Your suggestion to TPS to allow us to pin poems was brilliant. Cheers! ~Mark

Andrea Dietrich October 15, 2022 at 10:30 AM was checking again your BEST poems list and found this one at second place. As Panagiota said below: Brilliant! I just love things like this that poke fun. I did a poem long ago poking fun using the emperor's no clothes. But I forgot its name. I don't think I even posted it at Soup. It was a real oldie. Mark Toney October 15, 2022 at 11:13 AM Thanks, Andrea. This one was fun to write, and was able to be rated PG ;)

Panagiota Romios May 29, 2019 at 1:19 PM Brilliant, Mark! PANAGIOTA Mark Toney May 29, 2019 at 1:22 PM Thank you so much, Panagiota! ~Mark

Robert Lindley May 17, 2019 at 8:32 AM I thoroughly enjoyed this lively, delightful and humorous piece my friend. A poet should at least be able to pose, for a portrait if that rare thing called fame ever comes. eh? Fav-ing this delightful piece. Mark Toney May 17, 2019 at 5:09 PM Thank you, Robert, for the encouragement and the Fav! ~Mark

Gershon Wolf May 14, 2019 at 7:14 PM This is priceless, Mark. An immediate FAVE! I had to check it out because of the title,...and the whole poem won me over. Best wishes, Gershon (soup mail) Mark Toney May 14, 2019 at 7:50 PM Gershon, thank you so much, for everything my friend. Your gracious response is priceless! ~Mark

Michelle Faulkner May 8, 2019 at 4:26 PM Very amusing story, Mark, makes me wonder if you're referring to any current leaders by any chance? Mark Toney May 8, 2019 at 8:56 PM Lol, Michelle, you have left me speechless! ~Mark

Gregory Richard Barden April 28, 2019 at 8:09 AM Wonderfully witty and whimsical, my friend, I enjoyed this thoroughly ... I am drawing all kinds of lines in my head, and wondering if I'm tracking correctly, lol. (Next - I am what Iambic? King Henry the Versed?) Great work, Mark! :-) Mark Toney April 28, 2019 at 12:06 PM Lol...Great comment, Greg! I’m glad you enjoyed it :) ~Mark

P.S. Awtry April 26, 2019 at 7:16 PM Enjoyed every clever stanza and the end is perfect :) Mark Toney April 26, 2019 at 7:55 PM P.S., you’ve made my day! I’m glad you liked it :) ~Mark