The Decider's Decider

deadline poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the October 1, 2007 edition of The Nation.

September 13, 2007

They're deifying General Petraeus.
He's now, as in ex machina, the deus--
The one who's always able to gainsay us
If we say staying there will never pay us.
This treatment is a sign that should dismay us:
It shows they're trying once again to play us.

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About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...
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