by Sarah Brown Weitzman
In the beginning
they will come in swarms
clogging the air
waves, spewing abuse
as much on each other
as on their common enemy
the Incumbent
And they will multiply in grass
roots movements
stirring dissent and fear
even among billionaires
Casting blame like stones
in endless debates
In a hail of accusations
they will denounce
each other as false prophets
with the harshest epithets:
Conservative, Ultra-conservative,
Liberal, Intellectual
Bringing the affliction
of the Handshake
they will be visited upon cities
and small towns alike
like celebrities drawing crowds
of the media who will scrutinize
their wives, past utterances,
past wives, voting
records and tax returns
But nothing will shake
the enthusiasm of the Followers
who will not let them go
off the stage
without, youbetcha,
the prophesy of Cheers
And women will weep
as they hold up their First Born
high over the crowds
to let them glimpse
Him who may be
the Chosen One
So it will come to pass
that people in no great percentages
will be called Deciders
and will be hunched
in narrow private cubicles
touching the name
of their Candidate
on a small lighted screen
with reverence like worshipers
before a sacred relic
Sarah Brown Weitzman has had work in numerous journals and anthologies including The North American Review, American Writing, Potomac Review, Art Times, The Bellingham Review, M.I.T.Rune, Rattle and Slant. Her second chapbook, The Forbidden was published by Pudding House in 2004 followed in 2005 by Never Far From Flesh, a full-length volume of poetry (Main Street Rag). She received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1984. Her latest book, Herman and the Ice Witch, a children’s novel, was published in 2011 by Pure Heart/Main Street Rag. A former New York academic, Sarah Elizabeth Brown [Weitzman] is retired and lives in Florida. Sbwpoet(at)aol.com
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