And In This Corner
When I was much younger and mostly confused
by my classmates their beliefs and their tales,
telling of gods who could in fact be moved
by simpering pleas delivered on knees
dressed to the nines with imponderable lines:
“the living god died for our sins,”
or, “the cross as symbol of a lily white nation.”
The emotional triggers not the truth of the facts
seemed the point of the whole postulation.
In trunks and boots and terrible haircut
a wrestler roars to a mic
The bad guy approaches when the ref does not notice
the good guy gets chair-conked from behind.
Around the ring they each spring against ropes they propel,
a ballet of dizzying violence
The crowd screams in delight the announcer narrates the fight
And good barely bypasses evil.
Then Ma and Pa Masterrace line up for the rally in wheelchairs of red white and blue.
Asked to explain their distrust of Ukraine and their support for defunding NATO,
Ma describes an equation, “enough is enough” and pa just says “lock em all up.”
The guy on the stage expresses his rage at Congress, deep state, and media.
A tax dodging fraud from a family of grifters, he promised a wake for the woke.
Why they love him? Who knows. Why they trust him? Their news shows.
The screaming the threats the nose out of joint.
The brutality seems the whole point.
Craving a circus, we voted for clowns now we bitch that the Congress is broken.
Far across the wide ocean, with a panel of buttons, a self controlled Putin looks up.
With somber demeanor and appropriate reserve, the dictator cracks a wry smile.
