A Pessimist Speaks

When the election results were in.
Friends announced and cheered.
Biden in; Trump out!
Biden in; Trump out!

I continually warned
that the election wasn’t a done deal.
Folks accused me of negativity.

They kept chanting.
Trump lost the election!
This is the way things are done
in the U.S. of America!

I was baffled by their response
based on optimistic speculation.
I tried to explain, but the dreamers
were overcome by their own confidence.

No one noticed that Trump doesn’t
just go away. He’s like a bad headache.

With all he had done I was surprised
people still thought he would just
get up and leave his palace!

Had no one noticed the guy
never stopped before,
So why would he do so now???
Really! Why now?!?

I was concerned, fearful
while others partied and cheered.
Years prior, I was comparing Trump
to Nero, the emperor who played
the violin while Rome burned.

Had Nero not heard the cries
of his people? Did he even care?
Weeks later Trump hasn’t gone far or away.

He is just waiting.
What else is there for a guy
like him to do, living his America
as we live out Twilight Zone nightmares.

He speaks for an America
cradled in fear,
tyranny and injustice.

 

Janet Cormier is a painter, writes prose and poetry, and performs comedy. JC prefers different and original over pretty. She loves collecting stuff, but cleaning not so much. Janet also talks to strangers. A lot. Her column appears weekly on Oddball Magazine.