Before the red, white, and blue
balloons descended
from the ceiling
in clumps and a yawn,
signaling time for this
Grand Ole party
to end,
there was all that
slick packaging:
Rich white men talking,
about their white bred
upbringing, the struggle
of their stay-at-home mothers,
then more talking white rich men,
one white woman boasting
of her “real marriage,”
trying to relate to “you
guys” over and over again,
more white men, rich
in blame and blatant lies:
More Obama will ruin
“you guys!” You guys,
marriage is between a man
and a woman, and abortion
is not an option, says white men
talking rich. They sure love to hear
themselves talk – even
to an empty chair. Another
senile actor playing politics
with an evil agenda, bumbling
about another white rich actor
somewhere in the streets –
“Joe Buck,” the Midnight Cowboy,
one more conservative savior.
Then, the richest white man,
glossy and handsome,
accepts his nomination,
living his dream, applauds
along with his audience –
un-diverse as 1950s America.
Lylanne Musselman lives in Toledo, Ohio. Her poems have appeared, in The Bird’s Eye reView, The Prose-Poem Project, The Rusty Nail, Pank, Tipton Poetry Journal, New Verse News, among others, and many literary anthologies. Lylanne has authored three chapbooks: Prickly Beer & Purple Panties (Bacon Tree Press, 2007), A Charm Bracelet for Cruising (Winged City Press, 2009) and Winged Graffiti (Finishing Line Press, 2011).
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