Friday Poem: "The Candidate"

The Candidate
(for the victims in Texas)

With his bouillabaisse of pieties
The Governor savors eternal life
Or a helping of reelection
He spreads his godliness
Like jam on stale bread
Starchy as his shirt
Hard as his cosmetic head

We do not deserve this
We who laugh lest we cry
Who cuddle our children
And dare not die

We do not deserve this arch betrayal
At the hands of a theological lie
We want our State kept separate
From panderers of the faith

We'd rather the poor be nourished
The ailing nursed to health
The schools proffer truth not fiction
And just uses for wealth

As for these "suits" trailing hosannas
Dante's lowest Circle for their derelictions

And if some among you find this frightful
I view the prospect as quite delightful

12/1-2/07,12/30/07, 1/2/08
Copyright 2008 by Maurice Leiter

Posted with permission.