Remarkable, Really
by Ron Olsen
Remarkable, really
The agreement through the years
Between Coolidge
And Hoover
And those today
Who would destroy
What we have
And move backward in time
To a place where pain
Suffering
And indifference
Made us less than we are
Or what we could be
Or should be
Progress defiled
Denied
Denounced
Defamed
Again
By those who fear
Spiritual grace
Knowing only concrete and steel
Things
Not people
Denial of love
Accepting of fear and hate
Using it all up
Leaving none for the rest
And then blaming it on God
Can you remember what worked
And that which did not?
Coolidge
And Hoover
Reagan
And Bush
Actor and baseball syndicate millionaire
Supported by family
And friends
To qualify the few
While forgetting the rest
All for the best
At the master’s behest
An order to the masses
Who think it’s a request
They’ll believe anything, you know
With all memory gone
The body politik
Repeats the cycle
Problems forgotten
So many gone rotten
Ignorance, misinformation and lies
Bullying their way forward once again
Leaving only a dam
A great depression
A movie reel
A baseball team
And draconian denial
In their wake
While no one
Remembers why
Or who
Or when
They get away with it again
Remarkable, really
Ron olsen is a Peabody and Emmy winning journalist and occasional poet who lives in Bel Air, Maryland. More of his work can be found at http://workingreporter.com/poetry.html and at workingreporter.com
