Plus 2
It should
Have been
And not
781

Though that number
Might still be
The aggregate
Of footwear
In the closets
Of the infamous

(You know
Imelda Marcos
And others)

781 (plus 2)
Is the amount
Of charges
Our snickering tsar
Has against his name

Is it a conspiracy?
Of the Western sort
A plot a devious plot
What with pale folks
Getting all fidgety
And unpatriotic

781 (plus 2)
It is

(Who gave me?
My figures
Was it fake?
In the news division)

(Can you count?
On them
What with
Our dismal literacy
And numeracy levels)

It is just
Not cricket

781

781
Might be
The amount
Of shoes
Imelda Marcos
Might have had

The wife of a dictator
She who collected stuff
Amassed private wealth
Siphoned foreign aid
Into private bank accounts

(The country’s poor
At the raw end like
You’ve heard it all
Before and not just
From the Philippines)

781
Is the amount
Of charges
Our tittering emperor
Has against his name

781
Is it a conspiracy?
A dastardly plot
Perhaps a return
To the old ways
And the dark days

781
It is

It is just
Not cricket