Salman Rushdie

There once was a guy from Iran
Whose books simply ran on and on
About Coca-Cola
And the Ayatollah
I bet that they're glad Rushdie's gone.

(Of course, who's to say what is worse:
To never have written a verse
About the suppression
Of varied expression
Or to get yourself in a hearse?)

(The poem above was too dense
To fit in one stanza, so hence,
If you wonder whether
Those two go together
The answer, which is "Yes!", makes sense.)

(I now feel that I must explain
That the above aforementioned refrain--
No, not the top poem,
The one just below 'im--
Yes, THAT one--I've run out again.

As I was attempting to say,
The top two stanzas are OK.
But the third was not meant
For its poetic bent;
It's coincidental wordplay.

You see, it was meant as a note
To explain both the two that I wrote
Which should have ideally
Been one poem. Really,
It's not worth this ongoing dote.)

(I must interrupt again, please,
With a note on my parentheses.
Any lines thus enclosed
Are just not disposed
To be in my quaint poetries.

(Again, let me note one more time
That there is only one above rhyme
That is outside the scope
of my previous quote--
OY VEY! I am losing my mind!)

I hope that this settles the fuss
So you don't put yourself in a truss.
But alas, I must slow
Till next week, and so,
At least you have two to discuss.)