Fourteen years from present day marks a monumental shift
Upon which Arnold Schwarzenegger carved a neat and tidy rift
Cutting with a statesman’s pen instead of Conan’s sword
Kingship movies were past for him, as he was now the governor
Yes, indeed, the left coast elected a right-wing Austrian
Ousting a Democrat in ‘03, Terminator stepped right in
Upsetting the establishment, the actor took the reigns
Though seven years into his rule, a rivalry hadn’t passed
Over Representative Ammiano telling him to “kiss his gay ass”
Mr. Schwarzenegger wouldn’t have it, couldn’t be upstaged like that
And so, he wrote a letter to the House Assembly then,
Meaning mostly to attack Ammiano, and grievously offend
Most sensibilities would have opposed coming to more public blows
Inching towards the end of his term, Arnie chose to keep things on the low
Aiming ire at Tom under the guise of a veto penned
Nothing would stop the Governator from putting this to an end
Ordering no passage of Bill 1176, upon his signature it would depend
—
And so, for those who want to know how Arnold got his get back
You’ll have picked up on it reading, if you were keeping track.
Because even though it wasn’t in the governor’s job description,
Arnold really was kind of a wizard with the pen.
And so he used acrostic words so that he could pretend
It hadn’t been each line’s first letter, that in secret he had sent.
And so if you smiled at the hidden message, or found the story grand,
Remember to watch out for more poems published, next time in The Strand.
