Magpie Tales: too long lives the king

Each week, Willow of Willow Manor presents an unusual challenge for writer-bloggers. She posts a photo (which I have cropped somewhat) for us to use as a prompt, and then lets us freely write whatever we want, in whatever style, and of whatever length.
How great is that?
Poetry, prose, doggerel, gibberish, trite, right, wrong, or song...freedom of the prompt.
Is that anything like freedom of the press? one must ask.
Not in Canada, you say.
Pity.

THE KING OF CANADA

King Harper rules what news is read,
Tells TV what to say,
So from them all the truth has fled,
None of them dare display
Initiative or common sense:
They're puppets on a string.
(Some say they get more recompense
By following the king?)

RCMP are puppets, too,
Who beat on innocents—
The king has told them what to do
Despite our good intents.
Big business rules along with him,
They tell him what they want,
And he fulfills their every whim.
The rest of us he'll taunt:
"Big business makes more jobs, you know,
While all you do is whine
About your kids and healthcare, so
Now give me what is mine!
You pensioners, you useless poor,
You'll have to pay more tax.
What do you have, a king to lure?
You're useless, and you're lax!
Big businessmen know what I need.
They stroke my ego, too,
Pretending that my speech they heed
When me they want to woo."
The trouble, however, with kings,
We now have come to find,
Is that they do not care for things
The common people mind.
He says he wants the right to see
Our e-mails and our blogs!
And cyberspace won't then be free
From cyber-sniffing dogs.
Instead of a Prime Minister
Who thinks he's born to rule,
Send Parliament a court jester
Who knows he is a fool.

Posted for
Magpie Tales
To see how other writer-bloggers responded to the prompt photo please click
HERE!