Endurance

The Kaiser crushed the Belgians, French, and Dutch;
the Tzar groped towards the exit of this war.
A world away, one captain's out of touch,
ice-bound and drifting farther from the shore.
To lead in combat takes both skill and nerve,
and some part--we conjecture--is innate.
Unsatisfied in peace, each chose to serve
unknowing what adventure'd be their fate.
The purpose missing in so many lives
is not revealed in stars, or dice, or cards
Not individuals, but teams survive,
when challenges are other-worldly hard.
His ship's a loss, but with all personnel
Sir Ernest Shackleton walked back from Hell.

truthiness

recanting claims Obama formed IS
the Donald swears he hadn't really lied
reporters failed to recognize his jest
(which proves they're working for the other side)
the facts be damned! what matters is the show
that keeps attention focused on his face
we've yet to find a stratagem so low
that Trump would not deploy it in this race
without experience, he runs on trust
but those who've known him warns that's a mistake
the projects that he's vouched for all go bust
and he shows all the scruples of a snake
for Hillary this ought to be a cinch
were she just half a charming as the Grinch

a dangerous man

like Mussolini, Searle spell-binds the class
to contradict him, one would sound uncouth
whatever nonsense spews out of his ass
is held by broad consensus to be truth
he sets the grounds on which the game is played
and by decree, rules what's beyond the fence
whatever progress computers have made
he smugly deems is not "intelligence"
charisma clouds discourse where logic fails
dry arguments suffice where the truth's clear
a slick delivery can sell the tale
where on the merits there's no substance there
he thinks he's Socrates, corrupting youth
but Searle can't give a rat's ass for the truth