Mammon
Your coat of arms incorporates the text:
Getting and Spending. Background, deepest gold
with two fat-cat supporters (over-sexed)
arranged on a chaise longue of banknotes (rolled).
Since Jonson staged you, as Sir Epicure,
you’ve been a byword for the godless crew
who worship at the shrine of wealth’s allure
on yachts, in castles, with your favoured few.
Caricature, perhaps; perhaps your loot
is hoarded for some good, deserving cause—
perhaps to help the voiceless poor, the mute,
or ease the strain of dictatorial laws.
Who knows? Your stereotype could be a lie.
The Thames might freeze in June. And pigs might fly.
D.A. Prince lives mainly in Leicestershire, UK. Aside from two full collections of poetry (both with HappenStance Press), plus four pamphlets, she spends a regrettable amount of time hanging around in the world of light verse. Her latest collection is The Bigger Picture (also from HappenStance).