This was the second poem written in the series, and when this poem emerged (more or less complete), that was when I decided to write the entire Palace Suite, though some of the poems took much longer to gestate than others. This poem was inspired by the bronze statue The General by Hugo Robus, which is frequently on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC (not at present apparently, however). It appears the Met in NYC also has a version of the statue (also not currently on display). This time the artwork sparked the poem (along with a life-long love of Looney Tunes), but the subject doesn't completely dominate the resulting poem (at least in my opinion). The "fearless leader" residing in the Palace was always intended to be a bit of a buffoon, which is established here.
Inside the Palace
The lights still bum
in the imperial library.
All are asleep except the emperor.
Even his head is nodding.
His chin hits the gold braid of his uniform.
The doors burst open.
The general rides his sagging horse
up the marble staircase.
He slides sideways out of the saddle,
then suddenly snaps to attention.
Even his moustache stiffens.
The news is not good.
The emperor scowls.
His ears flush.
He grabs a gun
and shoots the horse.
The general twitches his moustache
as if it were on a string.
The room shrinks,
and the two pull their chairs together
until their knees touch.
The general leaps up,
throws all the maps into the fire.
“What is to be done,” they whisper.
“What is to be done?”
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