They cast a golden soccer ball to hold him in its spell,
hands clawing up beneath it from the very gates of hell
FIFA’s gift shows groveling, for Nobel folks said no.
Infantino called it peace, but it’s pandering you know.
Rolex called him to the Open, tariffs freshly set,
Swiss watches taxed at thirty-nine, a leveraging bet.
Tech titans lined his coffers, millions that they had owned,
Zuckerberg and Bezos bowed to keep their worthless thrones.
South Korea gave a crown, gold-plated, tall and wide,
a replica of ancient kings while trade deals coincide.
Three hundred fifty billion, that’s the asking price to pay,
for flattery in Gyeongju on that well-orchestrated day.
Kazakhstan signed for minerals, Cambodia gave them too,
the Congo inked a deal while war continues to break through.
Every treaty now a bargain where America breaks in,
and the DOJ drops charges, letting all the grifts begin.
Qatar gave a flying palace, four hundred million worth,
a Boeing jet to carry him across the whole wide earth.
Of course the flying palace, is one they couldn’t sell,
a fuel-guzzling white elephant to fit an ego swelled.
He’ll use it while in office, then it goes to his estate,
a “gift” the constitution says it’s against the law to take.
But here’s the thing about little men who need all the applause:
they stop hearing no, they forget about the laws.
They think fawning’s validation, the gold as mandate seized,
when everyone competes to give prizes that best please.
Some sycophant will hand him keys glint so bright
Unsolicited
Current Events
Pandering
Laura Gerling
© December 2025
Laura Gerling, unsolicited Poet and educator 
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