PAINTING THE DEBT CEILING

by David Feela


A compressor would be the quickest,
though the scaffolding required
to touch the ceiling
might make the Tower of Babel
look like a stairwell.

Give me one politician
with the vision of Michelangelo
and I will lie on my back
through the next election depicting
a brilliant fresco of the future.

Or left on my own, pass me
a roller and I’ll paint
the politician a face,
not just a position, one finger
in the face of heaven.

If nothing else, let me get started
with my brush, which takes forever
but surely not any longer
than finding this fabled
and convoluted compromise.


David Feela's work has appeared in hundreds of regional and national publications. His first full length poetry book, The Home Atlas, is now available.
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