so much winning!

Trump slinks away from his third Muslim Ban
before the SCOTUS shoots it down in flames.
A bully to the core, and not a man,
afraid of immigrants whom he defames.
"America!" he shouts "in all things, first!"
New citizens, who make this country great
he'd now exclude, as if they were "the worst".
Today, his mother couldn't clear that gate.
Three courts have told him that's not who we are;
three times, he's wasted months in an appeal.
The New Colossus doesn't guard a bar,
we've benefited bigly through the deal.
While refugees are fleeing for their lives,
Trump coldly scores them as potential wives.

pretender

Neil Gorsuch thinks himself Scalia's heir
imagining he'll sway with folksy prose
the colleagues who've been decades longer there
but where he looked for allies, he  makes foes.
The youngest Justice prates and condescends
expounding where he ought to keep it short
he alienates those he'd hoped were friends
pariah even on the Roberts court.
The stolen bench McConnell has bestowed
Obama might have filled to good effect
to salve a nation ready to explode.
But Mitch extends no atom of respect.
Judicial coup, defying precedent
erodes foundations of our government.

sapper

The nomination Mitch McConnell stole
defied two hundred years of precedent.
A third branch under GOP control
makes mock of what our Founding Fathers meant.
Three legs, that undergird a stable stool
be they of polypropylene, or wood
would militate against one-party rule.
But Gingrich tore down much that had seemed good.
Redress could take a generation yet,
depending on mortality, and health.
A court so plainly in one party's debt
can't serve blind Justice while it worships wealth.
The insults Mitch threw in Obama's face
disdain to hide his crass appeals to race.

unfaithful

James Mattis knows our interest's with the Kurds;
our dalliance with Erdogan's a bust.
But Trump's alliances are empty words
and no one should extend him any trust.
The general's moved on from the ColdWar
He'll take the write-off; Incirlik's a loss.
While Trump grasps nothing of what's gone before
but needs the world to hail him as the boss.
The world knows well how Powell's name got trashed
to sell a war on Cheney's bogus shit.
Yet who can tell if this will be the clash
that makes a Secretary up and quit?
Today, Trump's scolding his chum, Erdogan
and Mattis knows the reins are in his hand.

captured seat

McConnell stole Obama's High Court seat
defying centuries of precedent
Kentucky lawyer, not too proud to cheat
and claim that's what our Founding Fathers meant.
Since "Marbury", we look to the Supremes
to parse our Constitution, or a pact.
It's they who tell us what a statute means,
and who establish when a fact's a "fact".
Much that was long-established's overthrown;
tripartite government lists to one side.
Executive aspires to rule alone
contempt of court is piled on deep, and wide.
Neil Gorsuch thinks himself Scalia's heir,
 in bed with criminals who put him there.

looking forward

Joe Biden's thinking now, he should have tried,

and casts an eye on 2020's race.

His Beau adjoured him, just before he died

to leave the task half-done was not his place.

The CHANGE Obama'd preached in their campaign--

deferred when Senate votes came to a pinch--

is more than just a slogan, or refrain.
It stokes the faithful, like Loretta Lynch.

Gerontocrats who hold Capital Hill
disdain to give Millennials a voice.
But they're perceived to do their donors' will;
young voters see "Two Parties" as "No Choice".
Republics can't stay green in stagnant mud;
the Tree of Liberty requires fresh blood.

dead hand of the Past

Who'll run in 2020's still a guess
will Trump hang on so long as president?
Strange honor, to be shov'ling Donald's mess
when so much that was straight's now broke, or bent.
de Blasio, Garcetti, Gillibrand...
each see a path to snatch the big brass ring.
Pelosi craves the gavel in her hand,
and scans her rolodex to name a king.
Gerontocrats who hold Capital Hill
disdain to give Millennials a voice.
But they're perceived to do their donors' will;
young voters see "Two Parties" as "No Choice".
Republics can't stay green in stagnant mud;
the Tree of Liberty requires fresh blood.

vogelsang

She hums a plaintive folk-song from her cage,
but wordlessly concedes he's in control.
The trophy bride to cushion Trump's old-age
too late discerns the peril to her soul.
Melania's kept fast the deal she struck
and shines like a gazelle among mere sows.
But Donald can't pretend to give a fuck;
what fool would think he'd keep his wedding vows?
Her friends enjoy the caviar, and quiche,
 but all she gets is cheeseburgers, and fries.
Trump's palate isn't even nouveau riche.
And his beer-gut's now presidential-size.
She'll see her Barron comes of age, of course,
but counts the nights until Trump's third divorce.

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

His mind revs wildly, failing to engage
Trump never formulates ideas, as such
his fan-base resonates to seething rage
but fails to see their man's burnt out his clutch.
Reluctant to acknowledge their mistake
believing what's disproven by their ears
his ranting never quite a sentence make
his "policy" is less than it appears.
On such a blank, they're eager to project
the virtues the Obamas wore so well.
The candidate the Kremlin helped elect
now gropes through meetings by his sense of smell.
The oldest president we've ever had
still hopes the world won't notice he's half mad.

This one better; it goes to eleven (b'shelach)

"Eleven plagues" ain't got that certain ring
we're out of fingers, having tallied ten.
But smiting first-borns somehow spared the king;
he's leading the pursuit with chosen men.
The Sea's the weapon to defeat the Nile
no angel, and no seraph, and no elf
can do what God cannot, by force, or guile.
The Pharaoh's got to do this to himself.
While Israelites sing on the shore, dry-shod
seahorses mock the cavalry below
a testament for those with faith in God
with such a monarch, they need fear no foe.
The narrative begins in flowing blood
and ends with Pharaoh stuck fast, in the mud.

b'shelach

"Eleven plagues" ain't got that certain ring
we're out of fingers, having tallied ten.
But smiting first-borns somehow spared the king;
he's leading the pursuit with chosen men.
The Sea's the weapon to defeat the Nile
no cherub, and no seraph, and no elf
can do what God cannot, by force, or guile.
The Pharaoh's got to do this to himself.
The Israelites sing, dry-shod, on the shore
while God upbraids his angels for their mirth
let mortals revel in revenge, and gore
yet He's diminished by each death on Earth.
The narrative begins in flowing blood
and ends with Pharaoh stuck fast, in the mud.

revanchism

The Haitians found Trump's "shithole" crack uncouth
so Mueller found a present at his door.
Financial records document the truth
of what TrumpTower condos had sold for.
To launder rubles for the Oligarchs
or ill-got gains for the Duvaliers
while making sure the watchdog never barks
was standard protocol in pay-to-play.
Post-bankruptcy, most banks gave him a pass;
his creditors owned all he'd had to hock.
To make the grade, when he'd run out of gas,
Trump sold his charms to thugs like Baby-Doc.
Corruption clings; one can't scrub off the stench
in Trump's bad English, or in Creole French.

va'era IV

"the stick that's in my hand" is Aaron's rod
what's implemented by a mortal man
is still the action foreordained by God,
all credit to the  Author of the plan.
The royal first-born can't avoid the blow
nor can the Nile demure to turn to blood.
And even when he's let the People go
the Pharaoh's hardened heart's stuck fast in mud.
Our sacred text's repurposed from folklore;
old deities of flesh, and blood, and bone
give form to what's essential metaphor.
The blueprint's ours, to execute alone.
A God so big She's got no place to hide's
no God at all--except She dwells inside.

blow-out

Mike stayed aloof, and offered no defense
when tapes came out from AccessHollywood.
He'd known his running-mate was crude, and dense,
but now saw proof that Trump--at core's--not good.
This "shithole" outburst stokes his basest base
who pick and choose among the words of Christ.
The Baptists, who had come to blows on race,
now question if our leaders need be nice.
The 25th amendment's less than clear
what failings'd make a president unfit.
But Ships of State need someone sane to steer
who isn't morbidly obsessed with shit.
Aspiring to mere moral competence
increasingly, we'd settle for mere Pence.

Presidential Records

Trump muses now, that someone should record
his every utterance, so we can know
a huuge idea! We all should get aboard!
No court can rest on journalists' say-so.
Dog-whistle rhetoric for good-old-boys
like they alone will weigh in on his fate
expecting Christians will hear only noise;
he's deaf to resonance to Watergate.
This shithole president, whose potty talk
has allies thinking they'll go it alone
might get away with it when in New York
but failed to learn new mores when in Rome.
A Nazi proud of his "good German blood"
has mired our Ship of State in stinking mud.

Bo III

The midrash shows us God dress down his court
for singing as  both Horse, and Rider drown.
Let Moshe sing, but Heaven's own cohort
should sympathize with those who're going down.
The God of Jonah cares for Man, and Beast.
But Exodus is all about His own.
Although--among the Nations--we're the least,
to free us, He'll cast Pharaoh from his throne.
The universal creed that Amos sings
evolved long after we crossed the Red Sea
we're all His children, whoever our kings
One God unites us in fraternity.
Remember going forth! It keeps one meek.
And dwell upon it once--at least--each week.

Bo

The Pharaoh's first-born can't escape the ax.
That's made explicit back in par'sha Sh'mot.
The few Egyptians privy to the facts,
may flee the Land, but they don't get a vote.
The Frog, the Lice, the Darkness, Beasts, and Hail...
threats that would make us tremble, he found vague.
As deities, his pantheon all fail.
All Egypt gets it in the final plague.
The God of Jonah cares for Man, and Beast.
But Exodus is all about His own.
Although--among the Nations--we're the least,
to free us, He'll cast Pharaoh from his throne.
Hard-hearted king, who sneered at snakes, and blood
drowns with his cavalry in RedSea mud.

machinations

Bob Mercer gave Steve Bannon as a prize
when Trump's wild White House bid was going down
to orchestrate the whole campaign of lies
Rasputin in the shadow of his clown.
And Kellyanne, to hold the Kushners' reins
a pollster interfacing with the Press.
Despite the calm the moron blithely feigns,
this team was always one chaotic mess.
Now Bannon's out, and Gorka's gone to Fox.
The seismic shocks convulse the West Wing's floor.
A whole administration on the rocks,
we pray Mike Pence will show his boss the door.
If Congress can agree that Trump's unfit,
we may yet salvage fragments from this shit.

breaking up

Steve Bannon's out, and Gorka's gone to Fox
Trump stumbles into yet one more divorce,
alliance with his backers on the rocks.
The clown who masked the Mercers' evil force
whose program ignominiously fails
now faces midterm challenges alone.
A party-boss with negative coattails,
has Ryan feeling shaky on his throne.
The major parties both in disarray
seem clueless to explain their own defeat
but want our contributions anyway
to underwrite the bidding of WallStreet.
The Europeans sympathize, aghast
the champion of democracy crashed fast.

self-referential

The Midrash shows us Moses on the Mount
inquiring why some characters get crowns.
He's told there'll come a sage, on whose account
whole tomes unfurl from what's been written down.
Time-travel's not the greatest wonder here; 
Akiva's martyrdom goes unexplained.
The prophet like whom there will be no peer
is struck with awe, and wonderment unfeigned.
"Echad" rings with the sage's final breath;
he smiles as if he needs no further word.
The reader gropes for meaning in his death;
our world--as we encounter it's--absurd.
No afterlife's explicit in the text;
it's not for us to know what's coming next.

rumblings

Tunisians prospered in the Arab Spring
Egyptians came out worse than they began
for most, the uproar didn't gain a thing
The big show's slowly brewing in Iran.
The Persian Revolution's back in gear
that stalled the week that Michael Jackson passed.
This new wave has no leader, and no fear
The Mullahs may account to God, at last.
Their generation never knew the Shah
and never suffered under his Savak
but they're so over theocratic law
they want the global membership cards back.
The Rightward tide of Sisi, Trump, and Xi
may break a last; the kids want to breath free.

unfit

The "bigger button" swelling Trump with pride
could devastate all forms of life on Earth
obsessed with attributes huge, long, or wide
tomorrow, he'll expound upon his girth.
The  missiles that could lay a mountain flat
are poised for launch, in whimsy, or in ire.
A childish president, ill-read, and fat
should not be given guns, or bombs, or fire.
By contrast, Kim Jong Un looks fit, and wise
intent to make Korea more secure
the war of words 'twixt two such fonts of lies
could end the world tomorrow--no one's sure.
The spat the ends all hopes of global peace
should not be over which brat's more obese.

Pendulum

The Persian Revolution's on again
that stalled the week that Michael Jackson passed.
Green shoots, that promised liberation then
may yet be trees, but change is rarely fast.
The generation that threw off the Shah
condemned their daughters to lives swathed in black.
But--growing tired of theocratic law--
their grandkids mean to wrest their freedoms back.
Rouhani gave the Mullahs a veneer
to  mask their autocratic Iron Fist
but he's a lot less Left than he'd appear
they'd nominated him to head their list.
When even Saudis try to modernize
embittered Persian Youth feel called to rise.

treyf

Isaiah knew Rubashkin to a tee,
contemptuous of workers in his pay,
a Bronze-Age specimen of prophecy
as apt as ever, to this present day.
When Mammon's dearer than his fellow man,
the stranger, and the orphan in the street
are tools that he'll abuse, because he can
to sell what he purports is kosher meat.
His acts betray no ethical design;
morality's a word he leaves at shul.
As with his fellow, so with the Divine
too privileged to mind the Golden Rule.
When such a gonif's backed by leading Jews,
eschewing meat's a protest more will choose.