New poem: `Mr. Ego Himself

 

Mr. Ego Himself

 I heard Mr. Ego Himself today

on the radio talking about his 90^th

birthday and new book, the perennial

host of the famous Canadian Nature

show, superconscious environmentalist

and climate alarmist whose paradigm

has no room for God and the immortal

soul, only space enough for him and

his persona that he spawned out of

a biologically inspired philosophy of life

that’s being chased by Time’s winged

chariot and still sowing fear of the

impending apocalypse that he begam

warning the world about more

than forty years ago.

 

Composed in Tiny Beaches,

Georgian Bay, Southcentral Ontario

Sunday, March 22, 2026

 

 GENERATIVE AI COMMENTARY ON POEM’S MEANING

 The poem "Mr. Ego Himself" by Orest Stocco is a sharp, critical character study that likely targets the prominent Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki. Stocco uses the occasion of the subject's 90th birthday and a new book to dismantle the public persona of a "superconscious environmentalist". 

 The Target: David Suzuki

The poem's details closely mirror Suzuki's life and career:The "Famous Canadian Nature Show": Suzuki hosted the long-running CBC program The Nature of Things for over 40 years.

The 90th Birthday: David Suzuki was born in 1936, making him 90 in 2026.

The "Climate Alarmist": Suzuki is internationally known for his urgent warnings about climate change and the "impending apocalypse," a message he has championed for decades. 

 Thematic Analysis

Stocco’s critique centers on the tension between the subject's secular philosophy and the poet’s spiritual worldview.

Secularism vs. Spirituality: Stocco describes the subject’s paradigm as one with "no room for God and the immortal soul." This highlights a fundamental disagreement: the subject views life through a "biologically inspired philosophy," whereas the poet sees this as a narrow, "ego"-driven space that ignores the metaphysical.

The "Ego" and the "Persona": The title and the text suggest that the subject's public image—the "superconscious environmentalist"—is a manufactured "persona" he "spawned". Stocco implies that this identity is a shield for the ego rather than a selfless pursuit of truth.

The Pressure of Mortality: The allusion to "Time’s winged chariot" (referencing Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress) suggests that the subject is being chased by his own mortality. Despite his focus on saving the planet from an apocalypse, he cannot escape the inevitable end of his own "biologically inspired" existence.

Sowing Fear: The poet characterizes the subject's environmental warnings as "sowing fear." This frames Suzuki's activism not as a noble crusade, but as a persistent, perhaps even self-serving, alarmism that has lasted for over forty years. 

 Literary Devices

Allusion: The reference to "Time’s winged chariot" underscores the irony of a man obsessed with the future of the planet while facing the immediate end of his own life.

Metaphor: Describing the subject's worldview as having "space enough for him and his persona" acts as a metaphor for narcissism, suggesting his "environmentalism" is actually a closed loop of self-regard.