<h3> <SPAN name="salaam"></SPAN> SALAAM! </h3>
<p class="poem">
Serene, complacent, satisfied,<br/>
Content with things that be;<br/>
The paragon of paltriness<br/>
Upraised for all to see;<br/>
With loving pride he cherishes<br/>
His mediocrity!<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
The smirking, ass-like multitudes<br/>
Cringe down at his command.<br/>
With wagging ears and blinded eyes<br/>
They do not understand.<br/>
With pride they show each shackled wrist<br/>
And on each brow the brand.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
The young, the old, the great, the small<br/>
Give homage—all supine.<br/>
Fond parents bring their children there<br/>
As to some holy shrine.<br/>
And every one the Beast transforms<br/>
From human into swine!<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
Well praised are they—rewarded well—<br/>
Who on their shoulders bore<br/>
The gilded Thing that all the mob<br/>
Fawned in the dust before.<br/>
And each that did obeisance there<br/>
Was naked like a whore.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
The poet with his teeming song,<br/>
The wise his deep-delved lore,<br/>
The maiden with her tender flesh,<br/>
The strong his sturdy store:<br/>
Each yielded all he had to give;<br/>
No harlot could do more.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
Is there not one to share with me<br/>
The shame and wrath I own?<br/>
Is there not one to curse that Thing<br/>
Or pick up stones to stone—<br/>
To rend and wreck and raze to earth—<br/>
Or do I stand alone?<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
Raise high the swine-like incubus,<br/>
Obediently bow!<br/>
Shatter the flame on rebel lips<br/>
And wreath that brazen brow!<br/>
So blaze the banners, ring the bells,<br/>
Apotheosis now!<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
My kind but scorn your dull "success"—<br/>
Your subtle ways to "win,"<br/>
We eat our hearts in solitude<br/>
Or sear our souls with "sin";<br/>
Yet we are better men than you<br/>
Who fit so smugly in.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
Go! grovel for the shoddy goods<br/>
And plod and plot and plan,<br/>
And if you win the paltry prize<br/>
Go prize it—if you can,<br/>
But I would hurl it in your face<br/>
To hold myself a man!<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
I will not bow with that mad horde<br/>
And passively obey.<br/>
I will not think their sordid thoughts<br/>
Nor say the things they say,<br/>
Nor wear their shameful uniforms,<br/>
Nor branded be as they.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
Nor can they bend me to their will<br/>
Though black their numbers swell,<br/>
Nor bribe with hopes of paradise<br/>
Nor force with fears of hell;<br/>
Me they may break but never bend,—<br/>
I live but to rebel!<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
I go my way rejoicingly,<br/>
I, outcast, spurned and low,<br/>
But undreamed worlds may come to birth<br/>
From seeds that I may sow.<br/>
And if there's pain within my heart<br/>
Those fools shall never know.<br/></p>
<p class="poem">
So let me stand back silently,<br/>
The pageant passes by,<br/>
And live my life with these new Christs<br/>
Whom you would crucify,<br/>
And laugh with mirth to see the mob<br/>
Do homage to a Lie!<br/></p>
<p><br/><br/><br/></p>
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