Third World Opera by Simeon Dumdum, Jr.

[ernesto thaddeus m. solmerano]

Third World Opera
By Simeon Dumdum Jr.

When he kicked the governor,
The applause
Was deafening.
Everybody stood up
And cheered.
Even a baby cooed,
So he thought.
Such an adulation
He never had in his career,
And it was for an act
His role
Had not demanded.
Why, he was about to burst into song
After kissing the leading lady
When he saw
The governor, smiling
In the front row,
And he remembered the dictator,
The governor's master,
And his sins
Against the people.

For his part, the governor
Deserved credit.
That he loved Vivaldi
Whom he thought painted The Last Supper
Was well known.
Better known
Was his passion for the theatre,

And the tragic thing that could happen
Was for one
To think his honor a fool
In matters of the stage,
And so when the actor descended,
In surprising haste,
And planted
A rather realistic kick
In his groin,
He felt honored,
Marveling with gratitude
At how much theatre had progressed,
And joined the crowd
In the applause.