gigantic he stood, preening in mirror,
his head in the sky, his feet in the river,
a form to behold, inspiring awe
as he looked up and down and liked what he saw

his shadow he spread over lesser folks lore
and pounded the earth with nails and claw,
crushed in his fists the misfit and freak
as he beat his chest in pride and pique

excretion abounded as he soaked in the treasures
of earth and sky his newfound pleasures
secreting his waste over all and sundry
for he owned the earth, the hills and country

but made of clay, the water seeped upward,
as he unawares, with self enraptured,
allowed slow invasion of self-centred structure
till he crumbled and fell, his inners ruptured

and as he fell, he continued to spout
sound-bite bromides of what life's about
till at last his tongue fell out
and nothing was left of his prestige 'n clout