YOU and I should have a great relationship, for you desire to be king,
And I, to be the king’s indispensable advisor.
Yet, our alliance is not so happy. You object to my hauteur,
And I, to having to listen to your fake poetry.
Every feeble epigram puts my children in hell, makes my
Wedding black, makes my father hate my mother…
But when I reveal by my frigid manner any tension or contempt,
You indulge in a monarch’s invective against ingratitude.
And so we carry on. But Sa’di says that in debate it is the
Arguments that should stand out, not the veins of the neck.
I with this, and you with me, are burdened until graduation.
’Til that fine day, empty chivalry’s bound to lead us a weary chase.
Twice my allotment of twice-two years, I’ve kept company with children.
Yóu are cursed with a new set of parents every day…
Who? Friend, you. You, whose whole life is a story
Of noble generosity thwarted by insubordination.
from I Am Your Slave Now Do What I Say Find more by Anthony Madrid at the library
Copyright © 2012 Anthony Madrid
Used with the permission of Canarium Books.