Flies gather in clouds,
Abuzz with belligerence,
Reptilian shuffles patter fast
In soft percussive rattles,
Gutters belch dirty water
And gnarled brassy rasps wail
As the charlatan walks,
A crusty handkerchief
With disillusions of grandeur,
Snapped bones and stigmata
Faked for the rabble,
All blame games and riddles,
Perfidious and goose-eyed,
A strutting distortion
Cooked-up from a hole.