The disconnect.

The carpet cleaner (self-employed) came today all red, white and blue.  A huge eagle painted on the side of his van to depict some form of patriotic zeal I suppose.  Come to find out with no surprise to me he was an active member in the local Tea Party and he relished every opportunity to push his right wing agenda and for two hours straight I felt trapped inside a tin can sized mindset with absolutely no way out.


He bitched a lot about 'no jobs' so I asked him why he didn’t hire workers and become the solution to the problem and he just laughed at me like I was crazy or something.

The Greatest Lie

Barnum understated his famous claim, 

not one but ten

and he probably praised every sucker born 

for their intelligence.

So I wish politicians would stop saying 

the American people are not stupid 

when in fact they really are

for how else can we explain 

this photo-finish race?

* * *

I suggest we put Daffy Duck up against Mitt Romney in 2016.
By then it shouldn't be too hard to convince everybody cartoons are people too.

The Fickle Finger of Fate Award 

ruled the day when men would say, 

‘it’s a white man’s world and women are exempt'

and maybe, just maybe 

they want that all back. 

I have to admit these current issues makes me feel like a young man again.  

Like 40 years never happened.  

Like maybe this worn body of mine is just an illusion. 

The tin man’s head 

spins to and fro 

and everybody wonders 

which way he will go. 

Will yesterday’s friend 

be tomorrow’s foe? 

Will his joints seize up 

in the rain and snow?

The glaciers might melt 

but the oil must flow 

because that’s the way 

a tin man will roll.

* * * * *

The little Nazi was in town yesterday
only two blocks away and I must say
I was impressed and oppressed
by the turn out

and felt aghast at the mass
of old farts like me,
decrepit and grey with nothing to say
but let’s hate our own betterment.

This doesn’t feel like a national election.
It feels like a hyped-up sitcom production,

poorly acted and the lines are all bad.
Not worth watching twice and it’s just sad

how we show the whole world this travesty
and the joke we’ve made of our democracy.


* * * * *

The tin man 

finally has his day, 

the tide turns, 

the polls sway, 

the nation reflects 

his flip flop way, 

totally unaware,  

caught up in the game 

that turns integrity 

into the shame 

it so deserves 

after all these years 

of blatant slaughter 

to soothe the fears 

of the chosen clan 

sitting on high

asking in earnest 

we kiss our asses goodbye.

The professor said, 

“those who say they know 

prove they don’t

and potential hides 

in the effort 

to better understand

and those 

who take the high road 

run the risk 

of disappearing from sight”.

* * * * *

An old Somali saying

Lie to a liar, for lies are his coins. 

Steal from a thief, for that is easy.

Lay a trap for a trickster 

and catch him at his first attempt,

but beware of a honest man.

* * * * *

The question is, would you buy a product from a store
that constantly criticizes it’s competition who sells the
same product for half the price.

Evidently, half the voting populous would.

Bywords

Every decade all the way back
they cry the death
of the American dream.

A dream I never dreamt
thru all the monotony
of every job held,

every bill paid, every child born
I really can’t remember
ever dreaming

the American dream
nor do I know
what ‘middle class’ means.

* * * * *


The tin man 

all shiny and new 

pretends he really cares 

about me and you,

 with squeaky gesture  

he hides the king’s plan, 

an automated shell 

with a pen in each hand 

to sign away unobstructed 

every founding stone 

to sharpen the contrast 

and deafen the tone 

of passion