The Tyrant’s Sonnet

Vladimir,

Shall I compare thee to a winter’s day? Thou art more harsh and more intemperate. Thy shirtless form on horseback haunts my dreams.

Thy critics vanish like Banquo’s ghost but less chatty. Thy elections fixed like Bottom’s comic dream—”translated” beyond recognition.

Methinks thy power, like Macbeth’s, may someday meet its Birnam Wood.