New Poem: PAGE TURNING ON THE RED HIGHWAY

every state is opening
most counties are wriggling free
businesses want to operate mostly unfettered
beaches look like they usually do
>
Trump turns the page faster than Obama did with George W.
stomp that accelerator and turn your head from dead/dying
make sure the flags at half-staff happen on Memorial Day weekend
when the president doesn’t have to answer for mistakes made,
powers unused, reluctance to lead by example,
and, of course, no face coverage except in private
only grudgingly because president can only defer so much
>
in an alternative timeline,
government develops plans for action
saves lives in nursing homes and non-Caucasian communities
takes the necessary time to develop effective vaccines
>
alternate president paraphrases JFK
says we do not do this because it is  easy,
we fight this disease because it is right

New Poem: NO RESPONSIBILITY

let that President riff

like a fifth-grader convinced

he can play cornet like Louis Armstrong 

even though said fifth-grader

doesn’t look at a music book

can’t make his mouth form an embouchure

blows out a bunch of flat, air-filled notes

>

he wasn’t being sarcastic when he mused about

UV rays and bleach maybe doing for human insides

what they do for stovetops, tables and other surfaces

>

and then he realizes, lies and waves it away

and an until-now renowned scientist 

follows him almost scarf-deep into the Big Muddy

complaining about how that mean old press

takes a what-if remark and chews on it like gum

for at least two news cycles

>

to the staff, to the attorneys worrying 

about copycat behavior and poisonings,

and especially to the press and TV cameras,

the President says I take no responsibility 

even though he was elected to the highest office

which requires a lot of responsibilities—

such as don’t kill your voters

if you’re intent on being re-elected

to riff again and again

without regard for consequences 

Revised Poem: THE COVINGTON BOY AND HIS AFTERMATH

supposed good boy

from good family

visiting nation's capital

wears his big red

I'm-with-stupid-leader cap

stands toe to toe

with man of different race/religion

boy's face wears superiority smirk

as his stature rapidly shrinks

while the man staying true

to his spirituality

is the real Great American

>

but the story does not end there

zealous conservative adults use bad boy

as symbolic nuclear weapon

aimed at The Washington Post and CNN

to cease those discouraging facts about

the leader who shouldn't be leading

and who, in a more courageous world,

ought to be playing golf for years

in a country-club prison

far from non-security cameras

restrained from orchestrating perpetual hate

in generations old and young

Revised Poem: Trumpelstiltskin

Start subdued

Imagine you’re spinning

Falsehoods into votes

Then kick a hole in the floor

Kick until the hole gets bigger

Keep kicking

Harder

Harder

Harder

Until the hole is large enough

For you to fall through the floor

Dropping towards the Earth's core

As you yell:

I WON'T ACCEPT IMPEACHMENT!

And

I HATE YOU MUELLER!

And

THE WASHINGTON POST MUST GO!

And

IT’S ALL A WITCHHUNT!

Until your voice is no longer heard.

New Poem: Lizard Brain

supposed good boy

from good family

visiting nation's capital

wears his big red

I'm-with-stupid-leader cap

stands toe to toe

with man of different race/religion

boy's face wears superiority smirk

as his stature rapidly shrinks

while the man staying true

to his spirituality

is the real Great American

Revised poem: Cutting Loose

I lost the monster somewhere

in the South Bay

and not a moment too soon

>

he wanted to sell me a crate

of misogynist sauce

and a dozen boxes of

seasoned prejudice

insisting I try it first

>

no thank you, I said

what's the matter, snowflake? he taunted

are you scared of

the natural order of things?

>

he kept needling me,

repeating the same

nasty invocations, epithets,

jabs, gut punches

> 

I had no replies for him--

just walked away fast

>

turned on the evening news

and the lead story was about

someone beaten nearly to death

by a dozen people who consumed

the monster's free samples