Maiden Voyage

It's been a couple years, so in order to get my act back in shape I did my first poetry reading in the state of New Jersey last night. It was at a small community center called the Williams Center in Rutherford and most of the people in the audience were over the age of 5o, but they were nice and it went well. The poem I read is called 'The Eternal Clown' and I 'spose I should post it, so here it is:

The Eternal Clown

 

the eternal clown

has come to town

riding on a wave of

compassionate ignorance

dressed up

in the guise of bliss

 

free money for businesses

big and small

don't worry about the poor

they don't matter at all

 

from coffers in town

the eternal clown

hands bills to churches

all the country 'round

 

he says

“don't mind if we listen in

on your next telephone call

we have to protect

the weak and small

from the evildoers

with towels on their head

who'd love nothing better

than to see us dead”

 

brand with your

black and white brush

don't take time to judge

just rush rush Rush

 

lock people up

gather them in jail

the eternal clown

all hail!

cut the taxes,

that's surely the way                                                                             

for a three trillion dollar

war to pay

 

cut the budget for needy

hands off the banks

our country works best when greedy

 

'uniter not a divider' you said

you've done a great job uniting

the world around a pile of dead

 

your time is over

your reign is thru

hope is riding into town

and we’re so glad

to be rid of you!