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| Barnum & Bailey Circus Congress of Freaks c. 1924 |
Holiday Finds Congress Well Short of Goals — The landmark Senate vote this week to end the minority party’s ability to filibuster most presidential nominees is just one symptom of the deep level of dysfunction coursing through the 113th Congress . . . The list of unfinished tasks . . . is daunting — and time is just about out. The House will be back the week after Thanksgiving, but the Senate is taking a two-week break. - NT Times, November 23, 2013
The circus animals
have all run loose.
They can’t be seen
in the night,
but their smell
permeates the fetid air.
Some of them
must be preying
now that the
keepers have gone home.
I can’t report
any more
than what you’ve heard.
The feeding pails
are empty
and water
has been scattered
in every direction.
Don’t expect cages
to be open
in the morning.
David Radavich’s recent collections include America Bound: An Epic for Our Time (2007), Canonicals: Love’s Hours (2009), and Middle-East Mezze (2011). His plays have been performed across the U.S., including six Off-Off-Broadway, and in Europe. His new collection is The Countries We Live In.