O brave new world!

Lord Kelvin challenged Hutton's count of years
as if our planet couldn't be that old
the first among his scientific peers
insisted magma would long since grow cold
sir Isaac's clockwork world would have run down
if not for fission cooking in its core
the physics world had a new boy in town
to overturn what had seemed settled lore
the heavy elements that over-shot
the minimum where iron settles out
can keep a planet's core aslosh and hot
'though no one 'til then knew what that's about
new physics left old scientists behind
who thought they'd mapped the frontiers of the mind

post-truth

like Riefenstahl, Steve Bannon feeds the mob
a fabulous faux-past when they were great
a fourth estate that didn't do its job
gave up the field to merchants peddling hate
as sovereigns, it's on our heads to choose
a course for our republic and allies
but all depends on getting honest news
and knowing what part's satire, what part's lies
no Walter Cronkite tells it to us straight
each channel slants the news to make it mean
whatever sponsors' polls would indicate
when Breitbart's the official noise machine
that sunny future's darker than it seems
when we buy into propagandists' dreams

libertarianism

Locke's Second Treatise undergirds the Earth
on which our whole republic claims to stand
assigning lord and peon the same worth
that's what he means to say that one's a man
the right to property's not without bound
democracy presumes we're each the same
if some would sprawl on silks, some on the ground
"our" government's not ours, except in name
a much as he can till's a man's by right
beyond that, everything soon goes amiss
good work by day, and sleep secure by night
to grasp for more would be gross avarice
political philosophy's amok
when men prostrate to worship the Lord Buck

cheater

that Trump's a loser, even he concedes
alleging fraud while winning'd make no sense
this latest lie's a fantasy that feeds
the ego that allied itself to Pence
no narrative's as dear as victimhood
that masks aggression as a quest for rights
alleging his pursuit is for our good
he takes hypocrisy to artful heights
to delegitimize the vote per se
while claiming nonetheless that he had won
leaves nothing settled at the end of day
democracy itself has been undone
the Donald flip-flops without blush or shame
as long as networks blare his gilded name

vayeitzeh

when Jake came out, his mother seemed relieved
he wasn't cut out for his brother's life
his uncle wouldn't care whom he'd deceived
and just might hook the lad up with a wife
a chance encounter on the trail to Luz
assured him God went with him on his way
yet still, he haggled like it's his to choose
'though Esau'd made it plain, he could not stay
a score of years, he slept rough with the flocks
forsaking comforts of his mother's tent
to Esau's goat, he'd learn to play the fox
as Laban taught him what mishpachah meant
at thirty-five, he'll kiss by Jabbok's stream
the twin who sought to kill him as a teen

pulp

George R. R.  Martin writes salacious bits
to lend his drama versimilitude
a tale devoid of sweat, and ass, and tits
would lack his ambiance and attitude
incestuous begettings in the dark
taint many pretty claimants to a throne
few women are as chaste as Lady Stark
to bear a king a son he's sure's his own
no telos motivates dynastic wars
no themes to elevate a reader's soul
an endless haggling for the fees of whores
as mercenaries back-stab for control
this Game of Thrones sells sex, and gore, and dread
as each new varlot swiftly turns up dead

here we go!

the gust-front strikes as almost a relief
the waiting's had us at each other's throats
now air's aswirl with dust and twig and leaf
that had been thick with arguments and votes
the fascists Europe banished long ago
convinced that war was won for once and all
have now emerged from backwoods Idaho
to seize the reins democracy let fall
now Trump lets Bannon ride the Fourth Estate
George Orwell's turning flips to hear such words
the facile lie he'll "make our nation great"
makes as much sense as polishing a turd
farewell to any journalistic norm
all's swept away in Donald's bullshit storm

atavist

the Europeans look at us aghast
replaying errors of another age
as if we had learned nothing from their past
embracing an new politics of rage
eight years ago, the economic slump
threw millions underwater, out of work
and some, in desperation, turned to Trump
entrusting our republic to this jerk
Protectionism makes nobody great
impov'rishing our economic root
short-sighted calculation based on hate
regressing to the age of Hawley-Smoot
new century, but scant sign that we learn
we and our planet are consigned to burn

poor role model

Trump dares his creditors to go to court
compelling him to pay the money due
content they can't afford to prove the tort
for less than they're expending just to sue
exactly how he thinks diplomacy
could work if no one meant to keep his word
confronts the voter as a mystery
his candidacy's utterly absurd
his diction's childish, and his ethics, lax
he hung out with the miscreants at school
and decades later, he still cheats at tax
the Donald disavows the Golden rule
time and again, his ventures turn to shit
but some can't see he's morally unfit

Deep Time

the static cosmos Aristotle dreamed
held realms in sway two thousand years or more
but matters proved less settled than they'd seemed
confronted with a fossil dinosaur
"no vestige of Beginning" Hutton found
implying Time runs deeper than the Flood
his reasoning's as solid as the ground
his rivals' arguments are built on mud
by reproducing differentially
a genotype's by definition fit
to dominate the land, or sky, or sea
until a grandchild somehow out-breeds it
Charles Darwin transformed therapods to ducks
'cause "species" are just snapshots in the flux

out of touch

the DNC marched blithely to defeat
chastising peasants to fall into line
the only candidate whom Trump could beat
assured embedded press it would be fine
the board of WalMart on her resume
tipped workers off their jobs would only go
abroad for only pennies on the day
she didn't mean to change the status quo
the senator from WallStreet stirred no fire
except in the Financial Center's heart
the Socialist who reached for something higher
was edged by a director of WalMart
while Donald offered circuses and loaves
potential voters stayed away in droves

no fish is an island II

a motile salmon transports nutrients
against the current, to its natal creek
that nourish next Spring's fair efflorescence
of which the bard so eloquently speaks
as whales bring phosphorus up from the deep
their fecal plumes are rich to over-kill

to build such stable systems, the curve's steep
no balaenoptera without their krill
the Gaia theory woobydoobies love
rejects the systematics of Descartes
a chthonic god displacing one above
whom William Blake thought tore all art apart
the Web of Life that's aeons-long to weave
will take a few more life-times to perceive

echo chamber

the gilded excess of a Trump hotel
betrays his insecurity on class
to paper over flaws in wares he'd sell
a lion's mane's been grafted on an ass
the hair that's chic on an orangutan
in Trump's eighth decade's weirdly out of place
but who'd stand up to tell this petty man
that anything he does is in poor taste
his cabinet selections won't last long
they'll mostly be replaced within the year
to hint by word or deed he might be wrong
would earn the boss' jackboot to one's rear
the solipsist-in-chief has none to blame
when everything's transacted in his name

change is gonna come

as Florida subsides beneath the waves
its seats get re-apportioned farther West
denialists can flee their wat'ry graves
but can't escape their fate with all the rest
a house divided gets no chance to heal
as goals and values tug the halves apart
the backers of the artist of the deal
express contempt for those of Bernie's heart
what unifying vision can emerge
to offer leadership our country lacks
today, we're marching to our nation's dirge
exacerbated by the Donald's hacks
a tide of bile's rough seas on which to float
and--sink or swim--we're all in the same boat

egoist

the gilded excess of a Trump hotel
bespeaks his insecurity on class
to paper over flaws in wares he'd sell
a lion's mane's been grafted on an ass
the hair that's chic on an orangutan
in Trump's eighth decade's weirdly out of place
but who'll stand up to tell this petty man
that anything he does is in poor taste
his cabinet selections won't last long
they'll mostly be replace within the year
to hint by word or deed he might be wrong
would earn the boss' jackboot to one's rear
the solipsist-in-chief has none to blame
when everything's transacted in his name

unbalanced

Trump's cabinet cants sharply to the Right
as Europeans take that term to mean
the citizen can't make much of a fight
confronted with the State's Police Machine
the libertarians should be aghast
as Pompeo surveils them in their beds
dystopic visions of the fascist past
dance uninvited in their sleepless heads
Karl Rove's alliance suffered more than dents
it needs to be rebuilt from the drive-train
impeachment looms from those who think Mike Pence
if not the man they want, at least is sane
foundations must be planned and leveled well
if our republic's not to slip toward Hell

no fish is an island

a motile salmon transports nutrients
against the current, to its natal creek
that nourish next Spring's fair efflorescence
of which the bard so eloquently speaks
as whales bring phosphorus up from the deep
to fertilize the plankton they then kill
to build such stable systems, the curve's steep
no balaenoptera without their krill
the Gaia theory woobydoobies love
rejects the systematics of Descartes
a chthonic god displacing one above
whom William Blake thought tore all art apart
the Web of Life that's aeons-long to weave
will take a few more life-times to perceive

Enlightenment Experiment II

Karl Popper bade us wake from Plato's spell
that's been passed off as "truth" since it was cast
an exorcism with no book, nor bell
to liberate us from the hoary past
the Perfect need not always be behind
all strivings forward need not be downslope
the Golden Age is only of the mind
despair's no more our lot in life than hope
perfectibility is in our hands
a reasonable People can decide
establishing the rule of law, not man
with only human reason as our guide
a bold, but not unreasonable thing
to set forth a new nation with no king

Enlightenment Experiment II

Karl Popper bade us wake from Plato's spell
that's been passed off as "truth" since it was cast
an exorcism with no book, nor bell
to liberate us from the hoary past
the Perfect need not always be behind
all strivings forward need not be downslope
the Golden Age is only of the mind
despair's no more our lot in life than hope
perfectibility is in our hands
a reasonable People can decide
establishing the rule of law, not man
with only human reason as our guide
a bold, but not unreasonable thing
to set forth a new nation with no king

mishpat echat

Trump's registry of Muslims' as obscene
as any other red flag he might choose
to signal an illiberal regime
good Christians must reject as much as Jews
to welcome strangers is no civic flaw
the bible emphasizes they're like us
with no allowance for a sep'rate law
no sanction for Trump's rabid animus
the Nativists are hot to bar the gate
now we've found  haven, Others shant as well
as if it were mere prudence to preach hate
against a refugee escaping Hell
since Egypt, we have known a stranger's heart
we'd sin were we to set him thus apart

Enlightenment experiment

Karl Popper bade us wake from Plato's spell
millennia long gone since it was cast
an exorcism with no book, nor bell
to liberate us from the hoary past
the Perfect need not always be behind
all striving forward need not be downslope
the Golden Age is only of the mind
despair's no more our lot in life than hope
perfectibility is in our hands
a reasonable People can decide
establishing the rule of law, not man
with only human reason as our guide
a bold, but not unreasonable thing
to set forth a new nation with no king

feckless sovereign

our Founding Fathers feared a demagogue
would throw their compromises out en masse
'though he himself was raised high on the hog
he'd over-turn the rightful ruling class
Electors were invented to forestall
the proletariate seizing control
a vetted gentry casting votes for all
between the presidency and the poll
as they foresaw, a Donald Trump arose
who knew not Joseph and wants us to kneel
'cause he's the man the frightened masses chose
to renegotiate their dead-end deal
industrialization has its cost
'though productivity mounts ever higher
uncounted mindless jobs must soon be lost
the unskilled face a future dark and dire
our Ship of State may not stay long afloat
if this is how our seething masses vote

evil precedent

the precedent Obama leaves in place

by whacking al-Awlakis, pere et fils

should scare us all, now Donald's on the case

no one of us will ever sleep in peace

the promises of Due Process of Law

don't mean a thing when no one prosecutes

in execution lurks the fatal flaw

the DA's mute when his supreme boss shoots

perhaps a journalist is next in queue

investigating Trump's business affairs

who guarantees it won't be me, or you

who's centered in the next Hellfire's crosshairs

aspiring to be ruled by laws, not men

we've stretched our necks to our Leviathan

unenlightened

our Founders trusted wisdom could be found
by polling an unschooled electorate
legitimacy flows up from the ground
and dynasties are not divinely set
the demagogue who cost them sleep at night
at worst, would dominate one branch of three
the other two,  enforcing what was right
if he'd infringe the People's liberty
but new technologies upend the mix
and couch-potatoes toss what we held dear
sham punditocracy anoints their picks
their television's always tuned to 'fear'
with Trump astride our hobbling government
we've failed Enlightenment's experiment

uncompromising

the Naderites deny they sank Al Gore
the votes they cast could have been GOP
a Democrat might still have gone to war
but numbers don't support that history
to chase Utopia, they earned our curse
unable to get past Gore's lack of charm
eight years of Cheney/Bush made the world worse
and Trump will do irreparable harm
this time, it's Stein who's perfect in their eyes
a standard-bearer focused, bright, and pure
but a republic runs on compromise
where no one bends, the Union can't endure
the damage Trump could do is off the chart
the centre cannot hold; thing fall apart

uncompromising

the Naderites deny they sank Al Gore
the votes they cast could have been GOP
a Democrat might still have gone to war
but numbers don't support that history
to chase Utopia, they earned our curse
unable to get past Gore's lack of charm
eight years of Cheney/Bush made the world worse
and Trump will do irreparable harm
this time, it's Stein who's perfect in their eyes
a standard-bearer focused, bright, and pure
but a republic runs on compromise
where no one bends, the Union can't endure
the damage Trump could do is off the chart
the centre cannot hold; thing fall apart

swan song

the Age of Trump, and Erdogan, and Xi
is perilous to members of the Press
and those of us who dream we should be free
pursuing not big bucks, but Happiness
a vast conspiracy tends towards the Right
although their slogans elevate der Volk
de facto maximize the rulers' might
and civil liberties are just a joke
it's thought that Putin chortles at the news
that Hillary won't be the head of State
the Democrats contrived a way to lose
against the xenophobic font of hate
a rising tide of bile could swamp all boats
when fear and avarice command the votes

show's over; back to work

the elephants are done, pack up the tents
it's just a field that was the circus grounds
attention turns away from Trump and Pence
they'll be forgotten with the other clowns
no lofty "shining city on a hill"
this contest was competed in the sewer
and now it's over, all the people will
remember are the volleys of manure
of war, and peace, and government's right size
important issues lost in all the smoke
we're left to tabulate who told more lies
Trump's foreign policy's an ill-told joke
Scalia's seat's the prize for the next fight
for which the card gets set on Tuesday night

Hatch Act

the FBI director's ten-year hitch
was meant to keep his desk above the fray
but Comey's still invested in the witch-
hunt prosecuted in Ken Starr's heyday
the Rule of Law's applied by human hands
as biased as our basest officer
a prosecutor courting the grandstands
makes plain he won't salute or bow to her
James Comey teeters in J. Edgar's shoes
he'd rather hang them all than grant them deals
there'd be no mercy were it his to choose
unstable boyscout in stilletto heels
when Law's a tool for partisan attack
it's over-due we took our country back

behind the elephants

the clowns bow out, the circus packs its tents
the echoes fade of the last slogans slung
a slim majority closed out Trump/Pence
and all that's left is shoveling up the dung
no shining vision of a world made whole
a White House race contested in the mud
both major candidates are scant on soul
and Donald mutters darkly there'll be blood
post-partisan Obama politics
met brute obstructionism from day one
until the Senate signs for Clinton's picks
the battle to fill SCOTUS won't be done
most pollsters favor Clinton on the math
but no one's plumbed the rabble's bone-deep wrath

process of elimination

bizarrely, Trump's his party's nominee
the donors' favorites left the voters cold
his language skills are rudimentary
but still, he's in, when all the others fold
the bid his rivals thought was just a bluff
has bigly demonstrated what he's got
he's found an audience who like it rough
and anti-Semitism makes them hot
in such a contest, Hillary looked sage
adult who's seen such tantrums all before
who'll bring back Kissinger to the world stage
but only cultivate  a little war
this moderate Republican in heels
excluded Bernie and his new NewDeal

impersonal

Maimonides made Judaism fit
into the box that Aristotle built
explaining that the key to all of it
was rationality, not merely guilt
aristotelian God imposed on texts
that seem to show that He evolved with time
meant scrubbing out His body and His sex
ascribing attributes must be a crime
how much of this would Avraham not get
would he be stuck with Moshe in row eight
of cheder, puzzling over alef-bet
while front-row students relish the debate?
this apikoros God would need no blood
and wouldn't wipe His planet out in flood

good trick

Chiroptera diversity is rich
let feathered dinosaurs rule sun-lit sky
they dominate their own nocturnal niche
the benefits of flapping flight are high
so bats have specialized to stay out late
when no one sees the dinner that one hears
like wee cetaceans, they now navigate
by waves spewed out the nose, and in the ears
the arthropods who took to flying first
and seem determined to feast on my blood
die by the millions to slake bats' fierce thirst
a roost's a blessing in the neighborhood
the hands apes use to do so many things
Charles Darwin reconfigured into wings

spoiled

Bill Weld knows Donald Trump's unfit to lead
and not because of spurs on his wee heels
he lacks the steady hand our people need
to guide us through a parlous world's minefields
his folks sent him to military school
but Donald never even quite learned that
no officer's above the Golden Rule
he left as he'd arrived, a pewling brat
a multi-party system might increase
the chances we could get what we want most
but if we granted Trump the White House lease
our hegemonic era would be toast
so Johnson's third in what's a two-man race
to spare an international disgrace