A poem in honor of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration has been published, and boy is it something. Titled "Pibroch of the Domhnall," the piece is inspired by Trump's Scottish ancestry ("Domhnall," the Scottish form of the name Donald, is pronounced like "TONE-all," the author notes). It was written by Joseph Charles MacKenzie, who is apparently an actual poet, though one who is not reportedly affiliated in any way with Trump's inauguration or transition.
You would be forgiven to mistake him for a satirist, though. Here is an actual stanza from the poem:
But for all his great wisdom, the braw gallant manIs matched by his children, the handsome Trump clan,And the flower of Europe, Melania the fair,Adds a luster and grace with her long flowing hair.May they flourish and prosper to form a great crowdAround the good Domhnall, the best of MacLeod! [Classical Poets]
MacKenzie adds in his notes that "the refrains at the end of each stanza are to be recited by the Inaugural crowd," like some sort of medieval "long live the king!" "MacLeod" is a reference to Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. And while a Scottish lyric poem might seem strange to inaugurate an American president, Trump declared in 2008, after visiting the cottage where his mother grew up, that "I feel Scottish."
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The poem also blasts President Obama as a "tyrant" that Trump has come down from his "tower" to defeat:
Come out for the Domhnall, ye brave men and proud,The scion of Torquil and best of MacLeod!With purpose and strength he came down from his towerTo snatch from a tyrant his ill-gotten power.Now the cry has gone up with a cheer from the crowd:"Come out for the Domhnall, the best of MacLeod!" [Classical Poets]
To read the poem, or print the text for a dramatic reading, go here.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article mischaracterized the purpose of the poem. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.
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