Wholly Smoke
A poem about the current political and governance crisis in the U.S.
By Bill Dahl © 2019
Everybody smells it;
Rising all around our land.
Lies and crimes from the White House
How much can we stand?
Tax cuts for the wealthy.
$5.7 billion to build a wall.
“It’s a national emergency!”
Lunacy heard by all.
Children ripped apart from parents;
The U.S. policy choice.
“Where’s my mom and daddy?”
Ignoring the children’s voice.
As I peer into this mess,
I get some in my eyes.
Burning and blurry,
I begin to realize.
The smoke is a symptom,
A product of combustion I cannot see.
It’s appears there’s much more to it,
This shameful reality.
People sit complacent
Gazing upon this scene.
Pondering the question:
What might all this mean?
The founders of this nation
Roiling in their graves.
Corruption infects the White House –
Our democracy must be saved.
Please hear my heartfelt confession
My faith is often weak and filled with holes.
Should I take any comfort in the thought?
That I’m surrounded by similarly afflicted souls?
Reality screams, “Your President is defective!”
“America is now less than it must be!”
Perhaps I’m all alone in this.
The faces of caged children, pulse through my misery.
If we didn’t have this issue burning,
Smoldering deep within our national soul,
Perhaps we might see a way ahead;
A pathway to make us whole!
Our democracy is fragile;
Current threats raise our concern.
Beneath the smoke of manipulation
Destructive fires continue to burn.
In a world filled with answers,
Lies and deception make us choke.
There’s something burning down our nation.
And it’s NOT wholly smoke.
