On the Utility of Long Codpieces and the Convivial Drinking of Beggars

The worst was that his writing
Kept compounding the banal
With pitch-dark inscrutable,
Which was highly suspicious.

Had it been only banal,
It would be easy to read,
Easy to dismiss. Readers,
If any, would feel secure.

Had it been inscrutable
In every line, it would be
Hard to read, hard to dismiss.
Readers would reserve judgment.

Had he been writing in times
When writers could be sentenced
To death or torture, to life,
He would have been funnier

For camouflage, and at least
Secret readers could chuckle
Private chuckles in the dark.
But he wrote as lives are lived.