(originally posted here May 2013)
Niccolo Machiavelli 1469-1527
Italian Political Theorist
Portrait by Santo DiTito
trapped in temporal interstice
of Florentine upheaval
between via antiqua and via moderna
between cold tradition and warm innovation
he sought which effectual truths
underpinned acquisition of power
he taught of the cruel morality
animating statecraft of monarchy
but his pamphleteered
overweening assertions
in Il Principe, which everyone reads,
attracted erroneous prominence
in subsequent cultural history
entirely missing his irony
left ignored is his seminal tome
the Discorsi, which no one has read,
revealing his erudite prescience
in sketching firm framework
for future-built, perfect-built
ideal perpetual
constitutional republics
including our own
Poesy plus Polemics 
You teach through poetry – a rare thing indeed.
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I like to share what I’ve learned
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How interesting–things I never knew!
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we often use shorthand for history that misses much
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Reblogged this on OUR POETRY CORNER.
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thank you for sharing my poem with your readers
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Reblogged this on Poesy plus Polemics.
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History written in poem is one way to teach some kids out there.
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assuming, of course, that they’d read poetry
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I shall source Discorsi and learn from it. I would say you had missed your vocation, Paul, if it weren’t for the fact that you are teaching and, more than likely, have always done. Off to learn some more. 🙂
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interesting you should say so – in the course of my business career, I was fortunate to have created and conducted many teaching programs – it was always the favorite part of my job
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That doesn’t surprise me in the least but gladdens my heart to think we share that enjoyment. There’s nothing quite like the pleasure of knowing you’ve found a way to help someone understand something not previously understood. It still gives me such a buzz when I witness the lightbulb moment! 🙂
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