Speculation

For weeks now –
Almost two months –
Many have been asking:
Is he alive?
Or is he dead?
Not seen since June,
Hospitalized,
No word,
And then a lame-looking
“Proof of life” photo.
So-called messages
From him
And his staff.
“We’ve been keeping
Him informed.”
Yet others study 
That photo, 
The style of her clothes,
He with the exact same
Posture as previous pics,
Speculating whether
It was manipulated
Or created with AI.

And why?
It’s appalling to consider
That his wife or staff
Or by some previous 
Directive of his 
Could decide to 
Fake his life, 
To leave him hooked
With machines
Simulating life functions.
But he was always
A master of timing –
At least when it suited him,
To twist the rules
For his own benefit.
Is this another trick?
Sleight of hand
(Or brain-dead body)
To get his way
Just one more time?
And tomorrow,
When the “deadline”
He imposed has passed,
Will it be revealed that
He had suddenly passed?
Recovering so well,
Then a turn for the worse,
Leaving us too, too early
At only eighty-four years
Of age.

No one person,
No family,
Would be that devious
For only political gain
For his party.
Would he?
Would they?