by Paul Burgess
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz defended President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” over criticism that millions of people could lose health coverage, saying those who would face new work requirements should “prove that you matter.”… Close to 11 million people would lose health insurance coverage if the House Republican tax bill passes in the Senate, mainly due to cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, according to analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. —The Hill, June 5, 2025
To prove how much you truly matter, folks,
You might attempt the art of sneaky sales
And master phrases used to slyly coax
The world to buy a "cure" that always fails.
Perhaps you'll never get a cabinet post
By selling useless pills on sketchy shows,
But every friendly ratings-chasing host
Ensures your market value swiftly grows.
So, get to work and earn your Medicaid
By hawking tonics made from oil of snakes
And pills containing rhino horns and jade
Or tiger kidney anti-aging shakes.
You've been so useless from your journey's start,
But here's your chance to really do your part.
Paul Burgess, an emerging poet, is the sole proprietor of a business in Lexington, Kentucky
that offers ESL classes in addition to English, Japanese, and Spanish-language translation and
interpretation services. He has recently contributed work to Blue Unicorn, Light, The Orchards,
The Ekphrastic Review, Pulsebeat, The New Verse News, Lighten Up Online, The Asses of
Parnassus, and several other publications.
