A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Friday 20 January 2017

One Day In Washington

One Day in Washington

I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blind. Bob Dylan Idiot Wind

The White House doesn’t seem so white today,
more a rainy shade of gray,
and Lincoln looks more serious than usual
inside his classical Memorial,
and Washington’s great Monument stands proud
although its apex hides within a cloud,
and cops and bikers sweat, and kids play ball
along the walkways of the National Mall,
and everyone is here, the sage, the fool,
casting their hopes in the Reflecting Pool,
some jeer and some are silent, some applaud
Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory Of The Lord,
some think there isn’t very much to fear
but fear itself, and distance is not near,
and everything can be replaced, they say,
until the next time it is blown away
by idiot winds, and others, fast and loose,
play games of chance with executioner’s noose
and pardoner’s hand, and deathly voodoo doll,
from New York City to the Capitol,
and all is still a grayer shade of white
and the hard rain falls long into the night.

19 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Good to hear from a voice of sanity Robert, on this grim day.
Gail.

donna baker said...

It is a dark day in the US and I can only hope that the world will not judge us all by this poor excuse for a man. I have been waiting to hear from his voters; where is the outrage from false promises and lies, but they have an excuse for all of it. I can only hope he is impeached or resigns as four years with him will be a lifetime.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I watched the ceremony today Robert - didn't intend to but put it on by accident and found it impossible to switch off. What will happen next is in the lap of the gods.

Rachel Fox said...

Is this yours? Tis good.

dritanje said...

That's such a good poem solitary Walker, and I believe, the best possible response to - let's call it an uncertain future.
It brings to mind a speech I've just read by A L Kennedy

http://eurolitnetwork.com/this-lack-of-art-and-this-lack-of-humanity-by-a-l-kennedy/

A L Kennedy on the value of art, how important and necessary it is to our lives. She says she hasn't done as much as she could, to state how important it is.
She writes:
"The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education. The practice of arts, contact with the arts, is our lifelong education – right here – it prepares us to choose wisely. It exercises our imagination, the force that allows us to visualize any change, all consequences, to empathize with each other.
­
Like many of us, perhaps, in comfortable, apparently stable democracies I have forgotten that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance "

The Solitary Walker said...

Yes - thanks!

The Solitary Walker said...

In the hands of Satanic gods, I think.

The Solitary Walker said...

I can only hope that people turn against him, Donna - in a backlash when his 'policies' are unsuccessful.

The Solitary Walker said...

What a grim and depressing ceremony it was, Gail.

George said...

I stick with my comment on Facebook. This is such a fine poem that you have been named Poet Laureate of the Opposition. This is a tragic day in the life of America, and, frankly, it's difficult to see how we got here. Obama leaves office with an unprecedented 60% approval rating; Hillary won the popular vote by three million votes; and yet, between those two bookends, we have just inaugurated an incompetent, authoritarian clown as President, a clown, who on the first day of his presidency, has an approval rating of 36%. Where we go from here is anyone's guess, but I am not optimistic. I expect things to get worse before Americans not only wake up, but become so frustrated that they will insist upon action. Fasten your seatbelt. It's going to be a very rocky ride.

The Solitary Walker said...

'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.' Indeed.

Gail said...

Excellent writing of raw truth. I am afraid on so many levels. God help us all Amen

Love Gail
peace.....

The Solitary Walker said...

With heavy heart I have to agree with you, George - things are going to get much worse before they get better. All the evidence is there.

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

Your piece is superbly written. I wish we could know how such a corrupt business man really got to that position. It seems almost possible to think it was his money used to buy his way but no one can truly trace his money trail. The man just wanted that position and bullied his way. Sadly many people fell for his useless words and somehow let him slip,into this position. It really has spooked the world. Even kids in schools sense the changes are scary.

The Solitary Walker said...

God save America, God save Britain, God save the world.

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks for this, Heidrun. Yes, these are scary times.

Cris M said...

I am trying not to think on what is going on in the US... it is scary indeed.
I was commenting with the director of one of my projects, an amazing American man probably in his 60ies how it is like to live in a country that moves in the ties of the US; even when Argentina is not one of the most affected ones. I was telling him I cannot even think someone can make public a comment about "building a wall", even less someone who has lived in the Berlin wall era, or even someone who has seen the people fleeing scared to death from Syria... He was telling me how hard was for him to listen to me saying this, because he knows me and then this "opposition" has a face... He said this with much sadness...
I hope, we worldwide human beings who care for others, can show what it is to live in "the world"... It is crazy that in these times of togetherness, the one ruling the most powerful country in the world speaks about separation...
I feel for my director and all great human beings I know from the US... this guy is not "Americans"...
God save the world indeed.
Hugs
Cris

The Solitary Walker said...

Good to hear from you, Cris. Yes, these are worrying times - unprecedented in my lifetime, I think.The thought of Trump in possession of the nuclear codes chills me. The US momentum towards renewal energy has been reversed. Trump has antogonised and alienated whole countries, cultures, minorities. And all this in just a few days. As you say, Trump and his policies are not representative of the majority of Americans.

Anonymous said...

How did I miss that? Pope for our times.

Off the wall, but have you ever thought of writing a play?