False Deity — a poem about the disappointment of celebrity idolatry

False Deity

I held you high like all the rest.
While the others drop your palanquin
to stand in picket lines
with protest signs,
I slink back quietly
to mourn the icon,
the image,
the false deity
we placed
on the
throne—

to contemplate
the strangest days
and understand
your choice.

The trouble with you
is that we trust you.

We believe,
doubtless,
that you will do
your due diligence
in all things.

But when your passion
becomes an agenda,
when your zest
becomes zealotry,
we are left motherless
and leaderless
with no hero.

I didn't want the twisted lesson
nor the bitter taste
that won't wash away.
Still, it festers, it lingers, it stays.

I'll love you even
when they've
cast you out.
I'll crank up
the highlights
and make the
shadows loud.
This is my specialty,
but I am a rarity.
I am the clear gem
in your tarnished
silver piece.

I'll cherish the diamond gleam
that you once gave to me,
even as the dream disintegrates—
even as you're eating me whole.

Photo by: Hamid hamido

About the Poem

I didn't disagree with their argument, but I understood the canceled one's motivation. What do you do when you're just the audience and you respect both boxers in the ring? #cancelculture #canceled #cancelled

— Kelley Ann Hornyak (@poeticonic) June 12, 2019