Saturday, May 22, 2021

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS?

by Gil Hoy


Bill Bramhall's editorial cartoon for Thursday, May 20, 2021, as Republican leaders turn against a bipartisan bill to create a January 6 commission for the U.S. Capitol insurrection. (Bill Bramhall/New York Daily News)


Nothing lasts forever.
Democracy’s
 
No exception.
 
We’ve arrived at 
That critical hour. 
 
The moment 
We’ve all been
 
Dreading. 
 
Like the moment
You realize 
 
Your parents 
 
Aren’t perfect. Will
 
America’s democracy 
Hold?
 
When a Grand Old Party
Has lost its soul. 
 
Sold its soul for  
A personality cult. 
 
Sold its soul for 
A man without one.
 
So many abandoned 
Principles. 
 
So many Cowards 
Telling

So many lies.  
 
Is the party over?


Gil Hoy is a widely published Boston poet and writer who studied poetry and writing at Boston University through its Evergreen program. Hoy previously received a B.A in Philosophy and Political Science from Boston University, an M.A. in Government from Georgetown University, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. While at BU, Hoy was on the wrestling team and finished in second place in the New England University Wrestling Championships at 177 lbs. He served as an elected Brookline, Massachusetts Select Board Member for four terms. Hoy is a semi-retired trial lawyer. His work has recently appeared in Best Poetry Online, Muddy River Poetry Review,  Tipton Poetry Journal, Rusty Truck,  Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, The Penmen Review, Misfit Magazine, Rat’s Ass Review, Chiron Review, The New Verse News, and elsewhere. Hoy was a Best of the Net nominee last year.