23 September 2019

Careening Off a Cliff With a Clown at the Wheel

Willingly or not,
the whole country
had become 
his clown car
as the lunatic
took a seat 
behind the wheel

The speedometer
read eighty
but he swore
he was reaching
speeds not yet
attempted
as he bumped
recklessly
down his route

An evil glint
flickered in his eyes
when darker hues 
crossed his path

He swerved 
at these innocent 
pedestrians
as they attempted
to dive for what 
little safety 
still remained

He shouted 
out the windows
in incomplete,
incompetent 
sentences
about the really
big brain he claimed
was hiding under
that crazy orange hair

He laughed at
global warming,
stopping to have 
the emissions doubled
just for kicks

Even when the roads
were desolate,
he bragged of the 
enormous crowd
he declared had
gathered to 
cheer him on

The danger sign
warned the bridge
was out ahead
but he hollered,
“Fake news!”
and slammed 
his foot onto
the accelerator

Speeding with his 
eyes closed
towards a bridge
that had long ago
collapsed,

all the while 
proclaiming
how boldly 
we were winning

even as the wheels
no longer
touched the ground
and the descent 
loomed ominously
beneath us,

waiting for us 
to realize
how fast
we were falling,

wondering if
the first clue
of our plunge
would be when 
the metal smashes
the rocks below
and the car’s
ceiling and floor 
become one

with the remains
of our bones
crushed in between

Even then,
with the ground
rapidly approaching,
the clown was 
stuffing his pockets 
while grinning
like a fool


22 Sep 2019

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