BREXIT, or not

Contraction's looming, Downing street concedes
on top of what these last two years have wrought.
Remorse came quick, as voters tote the fees;
John Bull is waxing wroth with what they've bought.
A second referendum'd vote to STAY
but sov'reignty belongs to Parliament
a stark rebuke'd befall Theresa May
were Corbyn competent at government.
Leviathan made Europeans strong;
to quit the Union's logically absurd.
But geriatrics vote, and voted wrong.
Kant's dream of lasting peace must be deferred.
Divided, their world-voice is cut by half;
such useful idiots make Putin laugh.

synecdoche

One High Priest tends the footstool of the Throne
Seraphim guard the contents of the Ark
on Yom Kippur, he'd venture in, alone
while clouds of incense kept him in the dark.
No finite space can hold our God in bounds;
He's not material to file, or bin.
He's no more merely here than up, or down.
But most reliably, He's found within.
Jerusalem, that had been Heaven's gate
was leveled by the Romans long ago.
No priesthood serves the Jews to mediate;
each individual must tap the flow.
A box of gopher-wood, veneered in gold
just held the place for what it couldn't hold.

follow the money!

Now Butina's exploring a plea-deal,
but Mueller's unconvinced of what she's got.
She's known to fake an orgasm and squeal
although the lovemaking was not so hot.
Like Trump's, her credibility's in doubt;
there are no values she won't compromise.
Should she agree to let it all hang out,
we'd want to know who underwrote the lies.
Those rubles funneled through the NRA
have set old allies at each other's throat
corrupting good old-fashioned pay-to-play;
the Kremlin sought to dictate how we vote.
Misogynists still love their orange clown,
whom women now perceive must by cast down.

alternative facts

Trump knows Sean Hannity will have his back
no matter how egregious the mistake.
Each criticism prompts a new attack
about how Californians need to rake.
Finns know his English comprehension's weak
and he'll confabulate to fill all gaps.
But it's the only language he can speak,
so they use little words, in solid CAPS.
Far from the values of their distant youth,
sealed echo-chamber parroting Trump's views
staunch partisans, convinced they own the Truth
subscribe to Hannity instead of news.
Republics need their citizens to care
about the truth, no less than birds need air.

Free at last! III

ten thousand years since glaciers cleft its face
the granite of Yosemite's pristine.
No longer slogging up at Harding's pace, 
this generation likes its climbing clean.
Lynn Hill debuted the new way on the Nose
although deplorables still lean on aid.
Each year, a new "impossible line" goes
and--incrementally--progress gets made.
Now Alex went free-solo up el-Cap;
vicariously, millions share his win.
Between us and young Honnold yawns a gap
meticulously filmed by Jimmy Chin.
Sang-froid! Just skills and chalk and shoes and wall
as we suppress the prospect of a fall

Free at last! II

ten thousand years since glaciers milled its face
the granite of el-Capitan's pristine.
No longer slogging up at Harding's pace, 
this generation likes its climbing clean.
Lynn Hill debuted the new way on the Nose
although deplorables still lean on aid.
Each year, a new "impossible line" goes
and--incrementally--progress gets made.
Now Alex went free-solo up el-Cap;
vicariously, millions share his win.
Between us and young Honnold yawns a gap
meticulously filmed by Jimmy Chin.
Apotheosis! The iconic wall
bows to the hero who would risk it all.

free at last!

ten thousand years since glaciers milled its face
the granite of el-Capitan's pristine.
No longer slogging up at Harding's pace, 
this generation likes its climbing clean.
Lynn Hill debuted the new way on the Nose
although deplorables still lean on aid.
Each year, a new "impossible line" goes
and--incrementally--progress gets made.
Now Alex went free-solo up el-Cap;
vicariously, millions share his win.
Between us and young Honnold yawns a gap
meticulously filmed by Jimmy Chin.
A rock-star owning the iconic wall
as we suppress the prospect of a fall

radio silence

Sean Hannity was "client number three"
in Cohen's practice, known around the world
for heading off a scandal--for a fee--
by paying off an inconvenient girl.
The "taint team" found that privilege applied
to this minority of Cohen's work.
These can't be cited proving who had lied
Khuzami's writ's for big fish, not this jerk.
Six months elapse, but there the story's stuck
no details are forthcoming at this time.
As if the Murdochs couldn't give a fuck;
they'll give no airtime to their own guy's crime.
Sean's scandal won't stay quashed; it's just deferred.
His ethics are no better than Trump's word.

Tuesday night massacre

Jeff Sessions has resigned, and Rosenstein
is personally vested in this loss
while pundits speculate what this might mean,
at number two, he'd be without a boss.
But Trump tapped Whitaker to run the show
until the Senators confirm his man
like Robert Bork, so many years ago
signed off to throw Jaworski in the can.
The Mueller probe would be a lot to lose
the Special Counsel's under the AG
'though Whitaker has good cause to recuse
he's chosen less for guts, than loyalty.
A president afraid of Mueller's facts
just needs to find his Bork to wield the ax.

high stakes

binSalman brooks no rein on what he'd do
his father's only king in name alone.
He's moribund, and seems to have no clue
of what's been going on behind his throne.
Khashoggi dared to criticize the state;
he printed what no Saudi's free to say.
The prince's thugs minced him like fishing bait;
Ankara's sewers flushed the bits away.
Such drama's damaging the royal brand;
investors shun the grisly atmosphere.
There're cousins far more fit for the command,
who know there's more to governing than fear.
When Salman dies, it all comes to a head
and MbS must then be king--or dead.