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Gerald Ford forsook the bicentennial and a putrid wind haunts our hopes.
Abraham Lincoln forsook his top hat and a toxic wind haunts the 14th Amendment.
FDR forsook the Resolute Desk and a loathsome wind haunts the New Deal.
JFK forsook Camelot and a foul wind haunts the Civil Rights Act.
Daniel Webster forsook oration and a scorching wind haunts the Senate.
Sam Rayburn forsook the rostrum and a blistering wind haunts the House.
John Lewis forsook the floor and a stale wind haunts the Black Caucus.
Clarence Darrow forsook the law and a sweltering wind haunts the courtroom.
Earl Warren forsook his gavel and a noxious wind haunts Miranda.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg forsook her robe and an intrusive wind haunts women’s bodies.
Mother Jones forsook picket lines and a desolate wind haunts the union hall.
Jonas Salk forsook his stethoscope and a pestilent wind haunts iron lungs.
Martin Luther King forsook the pulpit and a corrupt wind haunts the ballot box.
Rosa Parks forsook her bus seat and a lethal wind haunts the EEOC.
Edward R. Murrow forsook his microphone and infectious lies haunt the web.
Admiral Halsey forsook the Enterprise and a diseased wind haunts the Persian Gulf.
General Eisenhower forsook Normandy and a virulent wind haunts Afghanistan.
One
America, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Liberty Island, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Edmond Pettus Bridge, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Denali, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Grand Canyon, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Golden Gate Bridge, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Mount Rushmore, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Gateway Arch, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Hoover Dam, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Colonial Williamsburg, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Lincoln Memorial, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Liberty Bell, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Freedom Trail, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Yellowstone, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Alamo, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Gettysburg, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Pearl Harbor, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Space Needle, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Crater Lake, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Devil’s Tower, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Everglades, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
National Civil Rights Museum, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Sears Tower, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Vietnam Memorial, the lament is bitter. The lament is made for you.
Two
The Statue of Liberty cried, “The tyranny that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me. The lies that came to be; their lamentation hang heavy on me. The corruption that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me. The theft that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me. The waste that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me. The stupidity that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me. The rancor that came to be; its lamentation hangs heavy on me.
“Because of the bitterness in my land, I gave out leaflets that householders ignored. Because of the bitterness in my land, I attended protests that politicians ignored. Because of the bitterness in my land, I posting memes that web surfers ignored.”
Three
On that day tyranny gathered, when in the presence of Liberty her nation was doomed, when they pronounced utter defilement of the nation, when they directed its people be enslaved, she did not forsake her land. Truly, she shed tears. Truly, she made supplication.
She pled, “Bull Connor, spare our nation,” and Connor said no.
“Lester Maddox, spare our nation,” and Maddox said no.
“George Lincoln Rockwell, spare our nation,” and Rockwell said no.
“Roy Cohn, spare our nation,” and Cohn said no.
“Phyllis Schlalfly, spare our nation,” and Schlafly said no.
“Jerry Falwell, spare our nation,” and Falwell said no.
“George W. Bush, spare our nation,” and Bush said no.
“Steve Bannon, spare our nation,” and Bannon said no.
“Stephen Miller, spare our nation,” and Miller said no.
“Russell Vought, spare our nation,” and Vought said no.
“Speaker Johnson, spare our nation,” and Johnson said no.
“Justice Roberts, spare our nation,” and Roberts said no.
“CBS, spare our nation,” but they capitulated.
“Paul Weiss, spare our nation,” but they capitulated.
A&O Shearman, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Kirkland & Ellis,
Latham & Watkins, Milbank, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett,
Skadden Arps, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher capitulated.
“DNC, spare our nation.” They asked for donations
and brought up gun control.
because the billionaires had already decided.
Elon had decided. Peter Thiel had decided.
Marc Andreeson, Steve Schwarzman, Miriam Adelson,
Diane Hendricks, Harold Hamm, Bernard Marcus, Bill Ackman,
Ike Perlmutter, Steve Wynn, the Winklevoss twins,
and Linda McMahon had all decided.
Four
The tyrant started a war—the aware groan. He replaced experts with sycophants—the aware groan. He fired government watchdogs—the aware groan. He fired generals—the aware groan. He fired diplomats—the aware groan. He fired doctors—he aware groan. He closed laboratories—the aware groan. He pardoned rioters—the aware groan. He pardoned drug runners and crooks—the aware groan. He praised dictators—the aware groan. He coerced colleges—the aware groan. He deported Afghans to the Taliban—the aware groan. He sued newspapers—the aware groan. His portrait dominates the Justice Department—the aware groan. He launched retribution campaigns against seashells, senators, veterans, astronauts, FBI Directors and National Security Advisors—the aware groan. He arrested reporters—the aware groan. He tore down the East Wing—the aware groan. He took food from the poor and medicine from the AIDS patients to build monuments to himself—the aware groan. He sued his IRS and awarded himself $2 billion—the aware groan.
Five
The tyrant stole from the nation, its farms fallow, its lunchboxes shattered. The arsenal of democracy dwindles—the aware groan. Wind power abandoned—the aware groan. Temperatures and tempers soar - the aware groan. Measles, Ebola, and hantavirus lurk—the aware groan. Voting rights cancelled—the aware groan. Election districts gerrymandered—the aware groan. Troops intimidate cities—the aware groan. Masked agents invade courtrooms and hospitals—the aware groan. Protesters murdered—the aware groan. He imposed tariffs—the people groan. Tankers languish in the Persian Gulf—the people groan. Prices skyrocket—the people groan.
Six
The Statue of Liberty laments her defiled home while awaiting deportation. “The tyrant has indeed defiled my nation. He took a pickaxe to its reputation. The world no longer looks to America as a beacon, sends its students to China instead. The tyrant turned Canada against us. He turned Greenland against us. He betrayed plucky Ukraine. He turned Mexico against us. He turned Brazil against us. He turned Albania against us. He turned Belgium against us. He turned Bulgaria against us. He turned Croatia against us. He turned the Czech Republic against us. He turned Denmark against us. He turned Estonia against us. He turned Finland against us. He turned France against us. He turned Germany against us. He turned Greece against us. He turned Hungary against us. He turned Iceland against us. He turned Italy against us. He turned Latvia against us. He turned Lithuania against us. He turned Luxembourg against us. He turned Montenegro against us. He turned Netherlands against us. He turned North Macedonia against us. He turned Norway against us. He turned Poland against us. He turned Portugal against us. He turned Romania against us. He turned Slovakia against us. He turned Spain against us. He turned Sweden against us. He turned Turkey against us. He turned the UK against us. He turned Saudi Arabia against us. He turned Kuwait against us. He turned Qatar against us. He turned the UAE against us.
Seven
The Statue of Liberty swelters at Alligator Alcatraz. Liberty, how is your heart? Faithful woman, confined to a flooded tent, how is your heart? Righteous woman, whose torch was sold for scrap, how is your heart? Symbol of freedom, denied a lawyer, how is your heart? Bronze goddess, beset by mosquitos, how is your heart? Inspiration, forced to unclog toilets with bare hands, how is your heart? How long will your imprisonment last? How long will you drink tainted water, eat moldy bread? How long will they deny you a doctor?
Statue, return to Liberty Island. Doctors, return to your clinics Scientists return to your labs. Professors return to your lecture halls. Stephen Colbert return to Late Night. Anderson Cooper return 60 Minutes. May voters declare an end.
Eight
The tyrant, who knows no humility, no empathy, no curiosity, no compassion, with an inflated ego, an incessant craving for praise, a sense of entitlement, a thirst for power, who boasts, who belittles, who wipes his ass on the law, who was ordered by hate, may he swoop down on the nation no more.
Those, who know no humility, no empathy, no curiosity, no compassion, with inflated egos, incessant cravings for praise, a sense of entitlement, a thirst for power, who boast, who belittle, who wipe their asses on the law, who were ordered by hate, may they be shunned.
Those, who know no humility, no empathy, no curiosity, no compassion, with inflated egos, incessant cravings for praise, a sense of entitlement, a thirst for power, who boast, who belittle, who wipe their asses on the law, who were ordered by hate, may they never recur.
Nine
Liberty, may your restored nation be resplendent. Like a bright heavenly star may it not be destroyed.
As supplicant, the poet offers this invocation to you. After absolving the nation of its errors, may your heart relent toward those who labor for freedom and justice.
May the hearts of your people who dwell in the nation be pure. Liberty, in your restored nation, may you be praised.
Hundreds of Jon Wesick’s poems and stories have appeared in journals such as the I-70 Review, The New Verse News, Paterson Literary Review, and Unlikely Stories. He is a regional editor of the San Diego Poetry Annual and host of the Gelato East Fiction Open Mic as well as the NAV Arts poetry reading. His latest poetry collection is Rants of a Cranky Old Man. He lives in Manchester, New Hampshire and longs for gene editing to bring giant wombats back from extinction.