The clattering adulation of a thousand pairs of hands
Say yes, yes, yes and the leader stands
Before them, all doubts and fears dispelled
As the cameras flash before him and all his people meld
Into one single body now rising to its feet.
He delivered what they wanted and,
as the beat of stomping feet retreat behind him, he leaves the hall.
He can truly feel delighted. He has given them his all.
But that’s not it.
The test of it is what
The press will make of it.
And response to adulation gives way to fear and doubt.
A plague of butterflies rages in him, while without,
Without – he smiles his reassuring smile, shakes hands and
Thanks his helpers, gives them the confidence he lacks.
He knows what the hacks
Could do to him.
He casts around and finds a seat
his guard slips and he asks
“What did they make of it?
What did they think – of me?”
(for Paddy)