Pride of Place

…like Hannibal

Thief art

I have no pride of place
I do not hesitate
I know when there is loss
When to and when not to floss
I can see the fall of Rome
I can feel the Ides of March
Tuscany may frustrate me
But I know when I am beat
Just like Doctor Lecter
I wish not to deflect her
It can be a pain
That civil war inside your brain
I can feel the feudal lords
I can sense the looming hordes
Imagination by frustration
Crushed by a third world inclination
In for a penny in for a pound
Don’t need no lost and found
I can penny pinch in starvation
Cross the Rubicon, defy a nation
Conquer fear or exultation
Cast my spells by incantation
Recite the holy sacred verse
Incite the Seat by secret curse
What’s your designation:
Recourse or resignation
Make the field
Tackle low
Pull your punches
Pull your soul — it’s in escrow
Inscribed by victory
…take no bribes
Instil your fears,
There’s nothing left to hide
It’s all we have, it’s up to us
So, and thus
…it’s by bullet if you must