Guidelines



Submission Guidelines: Send unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com. No simultaneous submissions. Use "Verse News Submission" as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance here. Scroll down the right sidebar for the fine print.

Monday, November 01, 2010

ODE TO CALIFORNIA AND DELAWARE

by J. D. Mackenzie


I miss the honest Senators
the ones from Rome of old
whose coffers swelled with stolen loot
their togas hemmed in gold

Their pay included shameless bribes
like young boys, nymphs and wine
their power stretched across the land
from Carthage to the Rhine

They held some strange religious views
that never seemed to matter
no one cared which gods they served
which vices made them fatter

Their campaigns spoke of honesty
through eloquent debates
informed enough to tell between the
Furies and the Fates

So as this dreadful season ends
I cannot help but note
Christine and Carly don’t have game
and have not earned your vote


J. D. Mackenzie, having patiently observed the psychiatry of the current crop of conservative candidates, now deeply regrets leaving the mental health profession twenty years ago.  His poems can be found in The New Verse News and other political publications.
_____________________________________________________