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The Faux Pas

 (Pentameter)

The frivolity of youth is its charm;

Slowly fades away with the aging soul;

A fancy dress party raised the alarm;

The harried Prince, some way, has lost control.

Skeletons in the closet do have sway;

Secrets are tied to the bones in the chest;

In graveyards they no longer want to stay,

But invade young minds that want to impress.

Constant in battle are young rolling stones;

The ancestral flaws they like to expose;

Hypocrisy lies in these bags of bones,

So let’s throw a party and wear their clothes.

The stage was set for the ball of the year;

Tom, Dick and Harry wore mask in the crowd;

Common guys were not supposed to be there;

And their ragbag clothes made a Nazi cloud.

The commoners’ streets are not paved with gold;

So the hair comes down in any spotlight.

Top of the line, comes from a different mould,

So a faux pas is very impolite.

 In the lens, paparazzi shoot the Crown;

No vetted shots, from them, for royal folks,

Who throughout the country they bring renown;

This mystic feeling, royalty evokes.

Mistakes are made so old folks reprimand,

But with every error something is learnt.
History as a core, not taught in England!
So youth do not know what folks Hitler burnt.

How well one seeks to correct every wrong,
Indicates the true measure of the man;
So you eat humble pie, to make you strong,
And reflect on the way it all began.

© Paterika Hengreaves

(Summer 2005/New Zealand)

This poem the “Faux Pas” is written in Pentameter style.

The Pentameter is a literary device that can be defined as that verse made up of five strong metrical feet or beats. The Pentameter functions are to govern the individual verses in the poem and to provide a structural form to a poem. The Pentameter also gives arrangement to words through the regular use of accents on the syllables, and help in emphasizing the specific words which the poet wishes to use. This is the major reason for variations in the text through stressed/unstressed patterns.

"The Faux Pas" was composed during my stay in New Zealand in the summer of 2005, to capture the universal outcry when Prince Harry one of the sons of Prince Charles threw a fancy-dress ball. Unknowing to the Prince, a picture of him wearing a Nazi war symbol was taken by the paparazzi. This royal blunter caused eyebrows to be raised among the Jewish community as well as with Leaders of Commonwealth countries. They felt his behavior was not in keeping with someone who could be heir to the British Crown. This conclusion was drawn from reports carried via the dead tree and electronic media on the matter. The distraught Prince after many days of mulling over this faux pas made a royal apology. This apology is seen as a very heroic act executed by the Prince. This brought him back in good favour with the people around the globe. This serves to strengthen the notion that any sincere apology can heal wounds.

The politics of 2016-2018 America among candidates for the various political positions have exhibited behaviors that are social mistakes and more often than not are impolite or beyond the pale. They have showcased their jungle-like behaviors so unbecoming of a nation that is supposed to be civilized and a leader of the free-world. However, no human being is perfect, but educated and civilized people of America seeking ruler-ship positions in those political establishments should take pause. They should not indulge in a barrage of ‘false steps’ and especially the forty-fifth occupant in the White House. Sadly this is the cycle of the present-day. One is left to say that candidates running for the highest office in the land should avid for starters:  nasty comments or the faux pas. These embarrassing social mistakes should never become the main dish in the political food-basket. I am mainly sounding the warning bell on the disgrace-full conduct in political arenas aired on electronic communication devices and in the “free-press”. God bless the United States of America.