The nose knew

Written by Walter Hecht   

What did the nose know
And when the nose know it?
The nose knew that corporations
Are not people, since they have no noses.
The nose knew money is not speech.
The nose could smell corruption
It smelled to high heavens
Above Wall Street and Washington
And in the vaults of Cyprus and the Caymans
And in the shriveled hearts of the super-rich.
The nose knew what the rest of us suspected
Power corrupts and concentrated wealth corrupts absolutely.