POST-TRUTH VILLANELLE

by Ned Balbo

‘President Trump . . . can usually be counted on to blame “both sides.” Be the topic race relations, international affairs or the “civility” debates, Trump often refuses to point a finger.’ —Eugene Scott,  Washington Post,  July16, 2018

“We’re not so innocent—I blame both sides,”

the President declares. The sound bite fades,

and one more false equivalence provides

fuel for our growing fears . . . What purpose guides

the morning tweetstorms that alarm his aides?

He says he’s innocent but plays both sides—

victim, aggressor . . . Taking aim, he chides

“fake news” or deep state Dems for his misdeeds,

reporters stonewalled when his staff provides

truth-challenged briefings . . . Shrugging, he abides

the torch-lit violence of Alt-Right brigades,

or followers gone rogue—“I blame both sides,”

he tells us—but when bribe or blackmail leads

him to berate our allies, order raids, 

or mock due process that the law provides

for refugees, he bellows forth, divides

us,  stands with tyrants proudly, adds, “Besides, 

what’s done is done. There’s no point taking sides”—

Who profits from the chaos he provides? 

Ned Balbo’s books include Upcycling Paumanok (Measure Press, 2016) and The Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems (Story Line), awarded the Poets’ Prize and Donald Justice Prize. 3 Nights of the Perseids (University of Evansville Press, forthcoming) was selected by Erica Dawson for the 2018 Richard Wilbur Award. He recently concluded three years as a visiting faculty member in Iowa State University's MFA program in creative writing and environment. He is married to poet-essayist Jane Satterfield.

THE DEVIL'S RUNNING MATE CONSIDERS HIS PLACE IN HELL

by Ned Balbo

I don't agree with everything he says--
his followers too often turn to violence--
but who am I to argue with success?
He knows how to inflame an audience.
I'm not sure whom he'll jail or deport
to warmer climes where punishment's severe,
whom he'll select to serve him on the Court,
which lands he'll occupy or treaties tear
to fiery pieces . . . Still, I wish him well.
I'm told I have a talent for persuasion:
he might reduce the temperature in Hell
if I stand at his side to lead the nation.
I'll state my views, whatever his decree is.
You must admit, he's got some good ideas.

Ned Balbo's newest book is Upcycling Paumanok, just out from Measure Press. His previous book, The Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems (Story Line) was awarded the Donald Justice Prize and the Poets' Prize. He currently teaches in the MFA program in creative writing and environment at Iowa State University.

DREAM SONGS FOR THE GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN

by Ned Balbo

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is accusing his staffers of lying to him about lead and other contaminants in Flint’s drinking water supply. Snyder has long accused state environmental and health regulators of giving him incorrect information about the safety of the Michigan city's water after its switch to using the Flint River in April 2014 until late last year. But on Monday, he accused employees at the state agencies of lying to him. —The Hill, April 11, 2016

1.

Why is our boiled water brown?

Our bottled water’s running out. 

Will it be safe to drink again?

Why shouldn’t water touch our skin?

The water mains still underground

belong to a forgotten age—

The records we’ve retrieved so far

don’t always point to where they are,

and, yes, we have a deficit—

which means we can’t repair them yet.

But rest assured: your water’s safe.

True, there are problems with its taste,

color, and smell, but samples show

lead levels are extremely low.

We hear you. We’ve conducted tests.

The wheels of government are slow.

2.

When water from the tap won’t clear—

When families forced to cook with it

get sicker, do we share their rage?

Or do we share in their defeat

when hydrants flush the streets metallic

orange—one more tainted purge?

When residents desperate to sell

are turned away by realtors?  

Water, once thought a public good,

is now one more commodity:

expendable, like those who live

in devastated neighborhoods.

3.

Why change a city’s water source

to one inarguably worse?

You know why: it was cheaper. Summer

days, pools fill with teenage swimmers,

laughter, lead. How soon will daughters,

showering, watch hair fall out

in clumps that catch in rusted drains?

How will the elderly, the poor

assured it’s safe, protect themselves?

Stop washing when their rashes burn?

Or let caregivers sponge their flesh—

the toxic river’s toxic touch.

We know this water’s poisonous.

Who’ll stop or redirect its course?

We’re told we have to wait. How long?

Who’s listening, if anyone?

4.

Hair white, startled from sleep, a man

who should have known pads down the stairs,

thirsty. What does he see at night?

Iced-over windows, mandalas

of frost on glass. He pours and drinks—

fresh water from the faucet, cool

and clear: the least that he deserves.

What do the least of Michigan

deserve from those responsible?

If citizens are customers

and nothing more, then, yes, they’re lost.

What should they ask this Governor,

and others like him? Shouldn’t water

wash us clean and nourish life?

Who sent this poison to our homes,

as if to kill or scatter us?

Don’t turn your back in disbelief.

Ned Balbo's The Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems received the Poets' Prize and the Donald Justice Prize. His previous books are Lives of the Sleepers (Ernest Sandeen Prize; ForeWord Book of the Year gold medal), and Galileo's Banquet (Towson University Prize). A new book, Upcycling Paumanok, is due out soon from Measure Press. He currently teaches in the MFA program in creative writing and environment at Iowa State University.

TRUMP IN TRIUMPH

by Ned Balbo

Piñata by Dalton Javier Ramirez, Piñateria Ramirez.

"He knew human folly like the back of his hand . . . "

—Auden

He said the things we didn’t know we felt—
hard truths that showed us what we really feared,
and whom. We listened as he lifted guilt
from our collective conscience. What we heard
reached to the core, though each of us heard something
different that convinced us he was right.
We heard, beyond our borders, rumbling;
within our borders, reason taking flight—
It felt like freedom. In our neighbors’ eyes
we saw a common light, or signs of doubt
that marked the enemies he’d brutalize,
the former friends we’d learn to live without…
His jokes amused us, booming from the stage—
We dreaded—and looked forward to—his rage.

Author’s note: “The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies” (Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal, 1987).

Ned Balbo's The Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems received the Poets' Prize and the Donald Justice Prize. His previous books are Lives of the Sleepers (Ernest Sandeen Prize; ForeWord Book of the Year gold medal), and Galileo's Banquet (Towson University Prize). A new book, Upcycling Paumanok, is due out soon from Measure Press. He currently teaches in the MFA program in creative writing and environment at Iowa State University.