The hollow man thought he had
power over everything,
a snap of the fingers
was the sound of a king.
I know what’s best for you
and I know what’s best for me,
when I speak the two are one,
this is the way of royalty.
The hollow man thought he had
by grace of god been saved
from the gun; to make the world
in his image was what he craved.
With a stroke of my pen,
with a word to my aide,
the blood will be drawn,
the price will be paid.
The hollow man thought he had
by his acts no one to answer to,
he saw vengeance as virtue
dealt out to those who not true.
The only reality I live in
is what I can buy.
My profit, your loss.
The only truth is the lie.
The hollow man thought he had
all nations in his hand,
to cower and kneel at his feet,
and give thanks to just stand.
I can seize your throat
I can enter your dreams,
I can sleep well at night
A conscience is not what it seems.
The hollow man thought he had
command over all, could school
choirs to stop singing; the
hollow man on the hill was a fool.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.
Warwick McFadyen is an award-winning journalist with more than 40 years' experience in metropolitan media. He has held senior writing and editing positions with The Age, has won two Walkley Awards and four Quill Awards, and was highly commended in the Keith Dunstan Award for commentary in 2020's Quills. He has published two books of poetry, On Reaching Land’s End and The Life and Times of Mr Agio and Other Poems.
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