How Tenuous the Rule of Law

How tenuous the rule of law,
    The mutual accord,
To be dissuaded, as in awe,
    Subject before the word— 

Dissuaded from unchecked desire
    Obliged to common good,
When one, although he might conspire
    For ill, takes heed of “should.”

Within the human breast lies lodged
    Lust, avarice and greed,
But, less that penalty be dodged
    Than man toward good proceed,

Unkempt discordancies—these sins— 
    Keep in their dormant state
Self-tempered, so as to evince
    And to perpetuate

Tranquility the human due
    Surpassing punishment
(Though penal codes be needed too
    By mutual consent).

Yet how can trust, based on accord
    And genteel comity
When flagrant insolence is poured
    O’er precept wantonly— 

With such a man upon the court,
    How can law not be seen
But as the means when thieves extort
    Their wealth from some “machine.”

Thus politics becomes a scam,
    Ejected governance,
With idealism on the lam,
    The balances askance.