Dear reader,
I am yesterday’s news, brittle & sepia’d
by over-exposure. My vivid blues
have turned Gray-Lady gray
& my yellow journaling has curdled
along with the leaves.
It’s the silly season of the soul.
I look for a late daisy to petal-pluck
but find only asters, blue rays
too numerous & disorderly for any kind
of in-depth, katydid-or-didn’t analysis.
The government thunders the fee
fie foe of socialized risk
so gods can go on living in the sky,
go on disemboweling the mountains
for coal to run their air conditioners
& turn their sunlit mansions back
into caves. You don’t need a haruspex
to tell which way the blood flows.
When I came up from the cutting-room floor
last Sunday, my hands were red as lipstick
& stank of the other white meat.
Without a Haruspex to divine it’s meaning I went to Wikipedia, after which I was home free. OMYG! I love this! Here I sit in my small sunlit hut, containing the only remaining house window air conditioning unit within miles of our poshy neighbors. Said unit struggles gamely to turn hot humid into cave humid. Meanwhile I’m feeling all put upon and pissed about the expanded electric bill, fearing winter and ready to kill anyone wearing a Brooks Brothers suit. Suddenly, what should I find but this lyrical cry of rage and anguish peppered with jaunty phrases like “ yellow journalism curdling,” and “Katy-did-or-didn’t” analysis written by one whose environs and pocketbook have been double raped. Coal barons, oil barons, stock-in-trade barons, all look alike in the upcoming dark. Thanks Dave for another beautiful poem which sadly hits home.
Joan – I’m glad you connected with this one. Your comment makes me think I should’ve included a footnote-link to the Wikipedia for “Haruspex” in Teju’s post — might be why no one commented on it.
Good on you for trying to live your values. The trouble with this kind of j’accuse, though, is that at some level we are all complicit. But not too much, I think — the quadrennial sham of a popular election doesn’t really make us responsible for what will probably turn out to be the biggest single disbursement to the rich in American history, rushed through Congress with little discussion or input from those who are expected to foot the bill. And it will give even more power to the already autocratic executive branch of government. So I don’t see ordinary people as being all that culpable — for this latest charade, or in general.
Well..trying to actually live my values might be to turn off the air conditioner completely and try to make it through the night. Think I’d rather take my chances with sweaters and coats in bed this winter though. (grin)
How ironic, when we finally have a chance to throw the bums out and maybe use some part of government money for good and not evil, they have decimated the coffers, the trickle down effect only trickled into their own pockets and there is no ‘government money’ left unless we borrow more and tax more. We are complicit in our ability to ignore Chicken Little and believe what we wanted to hear..and now the sky is really falling. And people in Missouri still don’t seem to get it. McCain..Mr. Deregulation himself is up about 3 to 4 percent. I’m of the opinion we should elect McCain’s Carl Rove protoge spin doctor of lies as the next president. His ads seem to be winning.
As to why nobody has commented? It’s probably because it’s political. One feels like putting a hat out on a stick first to see who will shoot it off.
You’re up next on the PoCo chain poem… hope you’re in a suitably steamy mood!
While here, I liked the blues turning grey, and the fe fi fo of socialised risk. And katydid-or-didn’t is genius!
I looked up haruspex too, but when I read the meaning, I had heard of the practice. My friend is a Latin teacher, loves to share those kinds of tidbits.
I especially liked these lines:
The government thunders the fee
fie foe of socialized risk
so gods can go on living in the sky,
go on disemboweling the mountains
Political poems are hard to write, but this one is very strong.
Joan – I tend to think that if people found out that Obama’s plan would give them more of a tax break than McCain’s, even your conservative neighbors would vote for his O-ness. We’ll see.
Lirone – Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad that resonated with you.
Christine – Thanks, I really appreciate that.