The Clothes Dictators Wear by John Eppel

The Clothes Dictators Wear

John Eppel

Cloth creases, even worsted, with old age;

tones, even tyrants’, turn cataract blue;

the folded hanky, stained with rheum; the shame

of water marks upon the fly; the rage

of effeminate fists inclined to slew,

limp-wristed, around gatherings of lame

duck eggheads that feed Zimbabwe to gold

diggers, carpetbaggers, corporations

with logos that excite children, excite

mistresses with gross appetites for old

holders of fierce contending nations,

feral dogs dragging  promise into night;

dragging suits more wrinkled, more vaguely hung,

no longer moving like a second skin

though once bespoke. But now the lily folds,

the prostate nudges the bladder, the lung

 is bunged, the lip  minced; and the botox grin

like pressed cloth, dry-cleaning, coat hangers, holds,

holds an Italian design, choosy, slick:

a three-piece suit on a tottering stick.

John Eppel is a Zimbawean poet. He is the recipient of Ingrid Jonker Prize and NMet Prize, among other literary honors. He was one of the writers in the 2019 African Writers' Festival in Berlin.