# To “Colonel” Dan Burns explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The speaker addresses 'Colonel' Dan Burns, dismissing his reputation as a kingmaker and comparing him to a Warwick, but ultimately labeling him an impostor and a human bubble that will vanish when pricked. The speaker suggests Burns's power is illusory and his influence over Markham is merely menial, advising him to abandon his ambition.

## Themes in this chapter

### Political Satire

The poem satirizes Dan Burns's self-importance and political influence, mocking his role as a supposed kingmaker and reducing him to a mere attendant pushing a politician in a wheelchair.

### Deception and Self-Deception

Burns is portrayed as an impostor and a 'human bubble,' suggesting his power and reputation are deceptive and will ultimately be exposed as hollow.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who addresses and criticizes Dan Burns.

## Key lines

> They say, my lord, that you’re a Warwick. Well, / The title’s an absurd one, I believe: / You make no kings, you have no kings to sell, / Though really ’twere easy to conceive / You stuffing half-a-dozen up your sleeve.

People call you a kingmaker, but that's ridiculous—you don't create or trade kings, though it's easy to imagine you hiding several up your sleeve.

_The speaker dismisses Burns's reputation as a Warwick-like kingmaker, using sarcasm to undermine his claimed influence._

> No, Dan, you’re an impostor every way: / A human bubble, for “the earth,” you know, / “Hath bubbles, as the water hath.” Some day / Some careless hand will prick your film, and O, / How utterly you’ll vanish!

You are a complete fraud, a fragile bubble on the earth's surface; one day someone will pop you, and you'll disappear completely.

_The speaker compares Burns to a bubble, emphasizing his fragility and the inevitability of his exposure as a fraud._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/to-colonel-dan-burns
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters