Ally, aka Advisor Resigns by Stephen Page

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Ally, aka Advisor Resigns

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You have exchanged the blue coat we gave you

For a red one; or is it just reversible?

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Don’t snarl at me, you are not a lion,

You have the eyes of a glass serpent.

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You taught me how to be a Godfather,

Not a father, or a leader.

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You taught me how to destroy land,

Not build a ranch, or a reputation.

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You think only in percentages,

Yours of course, not ours.

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It’s no wonder you stink of cancer,

You are rotting from the inside out.

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Don’t project yourself into me,

I am not your lost pocket mirror.

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You shaped yourself through self-debasement,

But I will not lose my edification.

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You will never spark cognitive dissonance,

For consensus on your chagrin.

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You weighed the cows wrong, admit it,

Your florid three names will not save you now.

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Trenchant are the ineligible, who wish

For nothing more than what they work for.

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Your resignation was up for reprisal,

But only half-heartedly.

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In the end you have saved me,

You have engendered my independence.

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You are like a senator who asks a general

To win a war, then banishes him.

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Empirically I have judged you

From the throne of my office.

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Stop whispering in my ear,

I will not listen anymore.

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I would like to name you Rasputin,

Except, you did not succeed.

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Stephen Page is the Author of The Timbre of Sand, Still Dandelions, and A Ranch Bordering the Salty River. He holds two AA’s from Palomar College, a BA from Columbia University, and an MFA from Bennington College. He also attended Broward College. He is the recipient of The Jess Cloud Memorial Prize, a Writer-in-Residence from the Montana Artists Refuge, a Full Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center, an Imagination Grant from Cleveland State University, and an Arvon Foundation Ltd. Grant. He loves his wife, reading, travel, family, and friends.

https://smpages.wordpress.com

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