The Cautionary Tale

How often have we heard the story
Complete with all the detail gory
Human folly, doomed to fail
The bitter lesson of the cautionary tale

And after all, we can’t resist
The tragic flaw, the catastrophic twist

This entertainment serves a purpose
As good old-fashioned bread and circus
Offered on a modest scale
The guilty pleasures of the cautionary
A fatal weakness for a cautionary tale