immortal repute

the best of the Achaeans can't be beat
by Hektor nor his allies on the Troad
the hour they met him's their hour of defeat
however bright their zodiac had glowed
but wrath and love alike must come to naught
it's only their repute that will remain
the little triumphs Agamemnon bought
can't wash the stain of cuckold from his name
whose arrow felled Achilles in his tracks
Apollo's fingerprints are on the dart
the hero proof against all men's attacks
must die at last when he's played out his part
all trust in walls of stone or brazen gate
is compassed by the finite thread of Fate      

is my blood more red than his?

five Acts of God befell Dick Cheney's heart
His will made manifest to those with eyes
the punctuality of each crash-cart
made all the difference who lives or dies
our sons and brothers die on foreign sands
or rehabilitate at the VA
mere pawns in Vice's bloodless undead hands
enlisted men just serve without a say
the resources expended on Dick's life
have consequences year by bloody year
sustaining one who profits from world strife
has sundered millions from all they held dear   
no Benthamite would sign a deal so odd
impious cardiologists play God     

decoupled

"comparative advantage" fuels Free Trade
Ricardo showed how all can benefit
by optimizing where our goods are made
deploying effort with the keenest wit
but wages can't stay fixed when labor's scant
and when it's too abundant, tend to fall
until they unionize, the workers can't
leave penury; they're up against the wall
that "giant sucking sound" fell hard on Flint
where union wages built the Middle Class
when AutoWorkers failed to take the hint
whole factories were turned out on their ass
upheaval threatens all they once held dear
and Fascists ride the politics of fear        

when Fascism comes to America II

the Europeans look at us aghast
our politics can be so hard to parse
the Fascist specter they've left in their past
reprised in Washington...is it a farce?
an unenlightened creature of the Right
the Donald can't admit he's ever wrong
a nativist who wants his country White
thinks any course is right for one who's strong
appealing to the voters basest streaks
an incoherent platform of attack
it's money--not his intellect that speaks
the poorly-educated love him back
more leverage accrues each passing day
'cause Trump holds all the cards in pay-to-play       

when Fascism comes to America

the Europeans looks at us askance
to let a Fascist harp on fear and race
to give barbarity another chance
to seize the highest office in this place
that Law and Order banner flew in Spain
'til Franco held that nation by the throat
but here, we'd rather skip the war and pain
installing our own fuehrer by a vote
analogy's imperfect; something's new
it's not the Communists who fight this fight
it falls to Vermont's Independent Jew
to point out what Trump's preaching isn't right
the poorly-educated love their guy
and prize whatever's big, 'though it's a lie      

boxed

Republicans don't have a lot to choose
if Trump won't be the headline on their slate
but no one's rushing to embrace Ted Cruz
this race seems lost before they've left the gate
Dominionists don't feel bound by the laws
when Revelation tugs another way
but Fascists--once they've got us in their claws--
may scoff at what their candidate may say
how Lincoln's party came to such a turn
how to define a kernel we might save
when Gingrich damned it all to stall and burn
has honest Abe back-flipping in his grave
 between the Devil and the deep blue Sea
McConnell's second-thinking Hillary 

so green

a parody of youth and vulgar wealth
all flagrant ego, too cool for ski-school
without regard for courtesy or health
he'll let the geriatrics mind the rules
the sickest gear from all the swankest brands
to wow the ladies at the ski-lodge bar
an adolescent puppet of his glands
who sneered at limits 'til he pushed too far
the monochrome of Winter yields to Spring
a swatch of scarlet stark among the pines
as flesh sloughs off, synthetic fabrics cling
a skier who ignored the 'boundary' signs
a boon of nitrogen elates the trees
a dilettante who thought he really skis