by Mike Mesterton-Gibbons

“Trump bemoans a portrait of him – but gets a new one from Putin”
—BBC

(With a nod to Robbie Burns)

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie the C-
In-C to see himself as others do:
Less presidential than Barack, Joe B
Or Dubya, and all predecessors too.
No portrait can distort him if it paints
The truly worst: oil on the canvas did
Him justice, and his clamorous complaints
Extol the artist capturing his id
(Commissioned for the space his idol hung
Awhile in). But her skill at portraits can
Not match the gloss of portraitists among
Vlad Putin’s circle, who made MAGA Man
Appear a thing of beauty … O, wad he
See who we see, resign, and set us free!