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Home Poetry Culture

A ‘Mock Praise Hymn’ for Zimbabwean Leader Robert Mugabe (1924-2019), by Sheri-Ann O’Shea

April 27, 2020
in Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
A A
8
poems A 'Mock Praise Hymn' for Zimbabwean Leader Robert Mugabe (1924-2019), by Sheri-Ann O’Shea

“Winner: Humanitarian Award”
Mugabe’s universally adored.
He made his people multi-millionaires—
Zim dollars are the answer to their prayers.
Champion of the poor, the sick, the old;
A veritable knight of legends bold.
The worn war-vets (of sixteen years and over)
Provided for and landed in the clover.
With bulldozers remodelling shanty towns,
And educating voters ‘midst the mounds,
Law-keeping a priority, of course,
The military vehicles out in force,
And to the end that unemployment cease
He graciously employs his own police.
Not only a bright star of fine morality,
He’s also blessed with certain immortality!

 

 

Sheri-Ann O’Shea is a South African-born teacher, now living in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and three lively boys.

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Comments 8

  1. Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
    6 years ago

    This is a fine and very powerful poem. So much is said beneath the polished veneer of mockery. With the world as it is today, we should all take heed. Thank you for your craft and insight – your poem is a privilege to read.

    Reply
  2. Dave Whippman says:
    6 years ago

    Well said. That evil old man ruined his country, and few people have the nerve to call him out. You did it with skill and wit.

    Reply
  3. Joseph S. Salemi says:
    6 years ago

    Read “The Great Betrayal, the memoirs by Ian Douglas Smith (leader of independent Rhodesia), on how Left-Liberal-Labourite vermin in the U.K. made possible the ascendancy of this creep Mugabe, and the destruction of a once-thriving colony.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant says:
      6 years ago

      The book is only $585.99 in hardcover on Amazon, the postage however is an affordable 3.99. Maybe I’ll order ten or twelve copies…
      https://www.amazon.com/Great-Betrayal-Memoirs-Douglas-1997-04-01/dp/B01MS2RRLL/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=The+Great+Betrayal%2C+the+memoirs+by+Ian+Douglas+Smith&qid=1588014382&sr=8-3
      Seriously, it appears that someone does not want the deplorables and non-essentials to know what is, and has been going on in the world.

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi says:
        6 years ago

        I read the book a few years ago, and it was a copy lent to me by a friend. It’s very clear that when our Deep-State censors can’t prevent the publication of a text, they can hamstring distribution by forcing booksellers to jack up the price to insane levels.

        Reply
  4. O'Shea Sheri-Ann says:
    6 years ago

    He was the parasite that destroyed the host. But no one lives forever.

    Reply
    • Paul Freeman says:
      3 years ago

      Funnily enough, I’ve only just seen your poem. It’s amazingly accurate and brings back bitter-sweet memories.

      I lived and worked in Zim for seven years until Uncle Bob decided I should go.

      Now the good people of Zimbabwe are ruled by ‘The Crocodile’. What a shame.

      Reply
      • O'Shea Sheri-Ann says:
        3 years ago

        His own people! How could he do what he did to his own people? So many lives ruined…

        Reply

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