The noble town crier
(and mayor’s paid liar
whom some admire
and also aspire)
extolled the empire
when lighting the fire
(a premature pyre—
the royals’ desire),
posting a flyer
confirming the friar,
for reasons quite dire
had feigned to conspire,
but caught in the mire,
was next to expire.

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.