What the General Said

          —after the coup

Harness me no more pomp. The young are dead,Or death their existential dread,Languishing at school; God knows what they are fed.I've shaved my beard not to look like the menWho look like men but are no kind of man.Let blue and red unfurl today on paradeWithout me; the republic is unmade,As promised. Tomorrow the hordesWill own the boulevards.One day's ride, and we'll be at a heightTo keep them in our sight.