To the Élite (a luc bat)

 A voice cried 'Sleep no more!'

So little time, before the dawn

of helplessness is drawn

across our withered lawn of hope.

Wide-eyed but blind, we grope

the darkness for an opening glint

of grace, the merest hint

of honour in the flint-locked heart 

of privilege. We start

to blend excuses, partly through

our latent goodness. Who

can countenance the true extent,

the reeking sacrament

of evil, reinvented by

the shitterati? Why

dissemble? Liars all,

they'll engineer the fall

of empires to forestall their own

exposure. They have grown

to hate us all. Their only aim –

perpetuate the same 

impunity, reclaim the power

that crumbles by the hour

as truth reveals their towering guilt.

Till, skewered to the hilt,

they writhe, they squirm, they wilt and pray

for light to skulk away

so they can holiday again.

The Earl of Salisbury

 The Earl of Salisbury, Pavane, by William Byrd

Illegal in Saudi

Here's my illegal alien experience. I was working in Saudi with a 6-month multiple entry visa. About 4 months into my stay, I decided to take a long weekend in Dubai, purchased a ticket and went to the airport. At passport control, they told me I had overstayed my visa by 3 months and was therefore in the country illegally, technically as an absconder. I had not understood that my multiple entry visa only allowed me one month per entry, i.e. though it was good for 6 months, I was supposed to exit and re-enter the country every month. Whereupon they instructed me to leave the airport and first thing after the weekend, go into work and report to my manager who would deal with Immigration on my behalf. And that's what happened. No handcuffs, jail cells, beatings. I had to pay a small fine of about 200 Riyalls (about £40) except the manager refunded me because "We should have explained the visa requirements when you first arrived".

And this was Saudi - are you listening, America?

All lies and jest

Still, a man sees what he wants to see 

and disregards the rest. 

We see you, Trump, Noem, ICE