SMILE

All day his doctors crafted
the Prime Minister's stoical smile.
His teeth, honed with white Superglutex©
and polished with supreme Denturetrox©
glamoured brighter than any
other on the planet.

The cameras were positioned
carefully on their Xs. No detail
was left unscrutinised. A propagandist's
dream of excellence.

Then at the moment when the
Prime Minister beamed, the
sun blazed gloriously from behind
the clouds. Rays freed from ozone
cages blinded eyes and smashed
camera lenses.

And with the intesnsity of the flare
his teeth shuddered back into grey.
In shame they dropped out one
by one until lips set with super-grade
Glossixicide© clasped a black
crescent void. A ghastly grimace
on the PM's face.

after Sappho