Spotlights and Shadows
 
I. To a Limelight Leech
 
O swankpot of the swish-and-swagger ilk
Basking in your braggadocio glow,
You stoop so long and low
To lap up flattery as slick as silk
That spills from ovine swine of kiss-arse lip.
This eely spiel
Propels your ego on an oily trip.
You rocket in a role that trumps the real.
 
O preening peacock of the plastic flock,  
O tinsel-hearted, glitter-glutted peach,
The puffery you preach
Makes feather-ruffled rivals quick to mock.
Your grand and groundless flounce to centre stage
Puts showboat sheen   
Above the gleam of merit’s golden age
With glitz that glints in irises of green.
 
O icon of the glib and gaudy cause,  
O paragon of sequin-souled panache,
Your razzle-dazzle splash –    
The soaring roar that summons false applause,
Has lured the very devil from his pit
To learn just how  
A bauble-bellied snake becomes a hit.
O Limelight Leech, you’ve earned my bogus bow.
 
Susan J. Bryant
 
If you have any thoughts about this poem or its companions, Susan J. Bryant  would be pleased to hear them