by Kent Reichert
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| Samuel Alito; drawing by David Levine |
At what point do men sit in judgement on the wind
or declare the light of the sun to be illegitimate?
Who threatens the height of waves upon the sea
or punishes the lightning for its brilliance?
What sovereign governs the mind and body,
imposing only its transitory will upon human essence
until the final physical manifestation
presents itself
to be
ignored and forgotten.
Do we cloak perjury in everlasting robes
and acquit the deception
as a harmless falsehood
enabling the taste of judges we savor,
garbing ourselves in the trappings and vestments of,
"God's will!"
That is, our God's will.
Who sings the elegy
for truth,
now floating helplessly aloft
untethered to reality?
The leader cleans his glasses and smiles
while the useful idiot struts and preens
telling the fawning, faithful masses,
certain in their creeds and dogma,
"I did this!"
Quietly, away from the light of day,
the leader softly phrases his words with hollow lips
intoning with a smirk, "No, I did this!"
"I did it all
for the sake of power and dominion."
And, in the assembly of self-righteous,
monochromatic males,
Whatever he says is the way
becomes the truth,
and for women,
their lives.
Kent Reichert is a retired educator who believes in the power of words. His work has appeared in The Dead Mule and The Dispatch.