Sir, you’re a veteran, revealed
In history and fable
As warrior since you took the field,
Defeating Abel.
As Commissary later (or
If not, in every cottage
The tale is) you contracted for
A mess of pottage.
In civil life you were, we read
(And our respect increases)
A man of peace—a man, indeed,
Of thirty pieces.
To paying taxes when you turned
Your mind, or what you call so,
A wide celebrity you earned—
Sapphira also.
In every age, by various names,
You’ve won renown in story,
But on your present record flames
A greater glory.
Cain, Esau, and Iscariot too,
And Ananias, likewise,
Each had peculiar powers, but who
Could lie as Mike lies?