A Political Dirge

[Auset]

this thin-skinned democracy
gripping thatched poverty
and hungry stares with
its droning warfare abroad
and angry surveillance at
home

the blood spill of religion
filling our coffers
the same
color as the freedom
flag celebrations exploding
with firecrackers and
death chants

rape catching up to
politicians who spent
a lifetime building
their resume to go
up in flames when
little Sandra grew up
and told the truth

war chants tweeted
with the casualness
of tweens holding hands at
the movies, the
awkwardness disguised
and lust tucked in

I am watching old
movies when gabardine
was in and women
plotted love with curlers
in their hair to impress
a fickle day that dreams
really do come true

[dwells]

Oh mercy me Auset, this was golden; although admittedly, Sandra escapes me presently unless of course Shondra Levy of Gary Condit infamy maybe??? (but she never got a chance to grow up, sadly). Cheers for this astute bit of public angst writ large on a subject near and dear. Cheers! - Dan

[jsol]

wow, what a horrible situation you are describing. i wish it wasn't happening like that. and i honestly don't know if it could be any different. i like to think that i would change it if i could. but i don't know what i could do if i really wanted to. i do know that i haven't tried as hard as i can. i do know that i could do better, though i don't think i've done bad. honestly, i don't even know if i really have a choice at all about anything. i have opinions, but they are easily traced back to the various systems of evaluation that generate my personality. it is very likely that i am operating to some degree on the basis of systems that i do not know exist. i should probably try to work as hard as i can to learn about the genesis of each and every thought and action i have and do before i do anything else. i believe i should and can do this, but i continue to procrastinate. as i said before, i don't really know if i have any choice at all about anything at all. so, from this vantage of unfettered possibility, it could be true that an unknown "something" is working against my belief, in concert with this impulse to procrastinate. as strange as it may sound, i think this is probably the case to some degree. but i can't see any benefit in continuing to explain or evaluate the previous sentence. however, if i were to be completely truthful, the only possible way that i can comply with my best ethical and moral values would be to put all my effort into figuring out what i am. well, that was beneficial for me to work through those thoughts. i don't know if it will be of any benefit to anyone else, but i wrote it out and it may be helpful to someone in someway, so i'll post it. thank you for the dirge, thank you to all else who gave this post a whirl and thank you to all who are putting any effort into working on themselves for the benefit of all life.

[Chelle]

this is why I love reading your stuff. It's true that politics today is really a minefield of morality fails. The #metoo movement has started to turn up many scandals that have gone on although we've had plenty enough come to light before now too. And these are our leaders who are supposed to set examples. And yes, times seemed so simple before in the days when you needed to worry about your hair, makeup, and what was for dinner.

[Josie]

I think your title is fitting. I am reading Grant by Ron Chernow. US Grant had his days of seeing the half empty glass. It reminds me to hold on to my drop of hope to see beyond those dismal events in your poem. If we each try to be kind to others and do our best, I believe it will make a difference in the passage of time. Your poem did reflect sad moments that many of us endured in our lifetimes. Keep writing!