Thursday, October 24, 2019

Houston, We have a Problem




image from amazon.com


Houston, We have a Problem

“I prefer peace, but if trouble must come, let it
come in my time, so that my children can live
in peace.”--Thomas Paine.

Considering the state of the Union,
how can we ever be united again?
We know that Divided we Fall,
though we are complicit in that division.
Yes, Democracy dies in darkness,
but this time it’s not the Democrats
who’ve spawned the autocratic shadow.
Thank our Founding Fathers
that some of us are not cowering in the shade.
Conflict can crop up between
Dads and their prodigy, and politics
can be fodder for the conflicting views.

It’s not the age old battle between
morality and capitalism that’s to blame;
rather it’s the immoral, greedy, ruthless,
spewing of raw sewage that spurts
out of the White House, the rancid circle
of collusion, spinning shiny deflections,
with the Republicans circling the wagons
that leads us to snarls, clenched teeth,
vendettas, investigations, and litigations.

We hope, we pray to be led out
of this quagmire, 
    this steaming stinking swamp,
    this chaotic cacophony,
    this fucking nightmare.   
  
Glenn Buttkus

Polyptoton

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

12 comments:

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Glenn: You rocked the prompt. Most especially like those last three lines.
Two nights ago I saw John Lithgow on the Stephen Colbert show. They talked about his new book:
Dumpty: The Age of Trum in Verse.
I just got the book and looks to be very good.....Think it might be something you'd enjoy. The artwork is also by Lithgow.

judydykstrabrown.com said...

Thank our Founding Fathers
that some of us are not cowering in the shade

Hopefully, given Potus's recent attempts at censorship of Newspapers that don't fall under his spell, this will continue to be true. Just more and more surreal every day.

Frank Hubeny said...

There is a lot of pain in division. I like your use of polyptotons on that word divide to emphasize the point.

robkistner said...

Oh fuck yes! Like it when you rage dude!

indybev said...


This week, for the first time, I think I managed a brief poem that equals your dark outlook, Glenn, although it has nothing to do with politics.

Jade Li said...

I admire your bluntness when talking about the state of the union. We do need to be led out of the quagire. Bernie for POTUS, Warren for VP.

Kim M. Russell said...

I love it when you rant, Glenn, because it all makes sense to me, and I love the title! Great wok on the polyptotons. It’s incredible to think that one idiot can be so divisive in such a large country – and we’ve watched him do it, me from afar and you in the thick of it. I love the phrase ‘the rancid circle of collusion’.

brudberg said...

I wonder if even the constitution can withstand thie onslaught... but at the end there are a large portion of the population that prefer the Trumper's way... and until they rise up the politicians are going to tag along...

There is a long way to convince the whole public that it's not presidential harrassment by the crazy lefties...

Dwight L. Roth said...

I think every president that comes through is just a Humpty Dumpty waiting to be knocked off the wall so we can pick on the next one! You have really laid it out in this one very well!

Phillip Knight Scott said...

Such clever and thoughtful polyptotons! While the topic is sour, this poem is a sweet ode to what could - and should - be!

Truedessa said...

I wish this nightmare would end and people would open their eyes, never have I seen a president be so abusive to so many and society thinks it is okay. Someone should throw his phone in the sewer where it belongs. Ugh.. It's a reality show gone very bad

purplepeninportland.com said...

Wow!!

"it’s the immoral, greedy, ruthless,
spewing of raw sewage that spurts
out of the White House,"

"We hope, we pray to be led out
of this quagmire,
this steaming stinking swamp,
this chaotic cacophony,
this fucking nightmare. "

A buildup that need a rant, badly.