The Underdog is born to serve
the purpose of the Overlord,
who serves in turn the general good
by giving work to Underdog—
a dogma that each dog must learn,
according to the Sacred Word
recorded by the Overlord,
who with his sword and pen assured
his lordship in the human herd.
Until the light of reason shone
and Underdog went underground
to post a new word of his own.
Proclaiming each dog has his day,
he found that web log and broadside
can’t underdog-by-underdog
reshape the world to suit his need—
not when like broadswords broadcasts sweep
across the airwaves in their sleep.
Aspiring now to greater heights,
the Underdog worked overtime
and took a college course by night—
until he heard his teacher say
that in this dog-eat-dog world, he
himself was Underdog, and, conversely,
that Underdog was Overlord,
who ruled the whole world with his sword,
who crushed the weak, who starved the poor,
whose captains loosed the dogs of war,
and who for all of dogdom’s good
must have his top-dog powers curbed.
Astounded at what he had heard,
the hangdog heart of Underdog
caught in his throat till he espied
beneath his tenured teacher’s beard
the flashing teeth and shining eyes
of Overlord in a new guise.
A past contributor to Modern Age, PAUL LAKE is a professor of English at Arkansas Tech in Russellville, AR. His latest book is a satirical novel in the tradition of Orwell, Cry Wolf: A Political Fable.
