Pale bloated
Puss filled slugs
And spineless jellyfish
Senators selling souls,
Guns, and national parks
To the highest bidder.

Stair stepping
Spinal chords
Of citizens, soldiers,
Scholars, and saints
To grasp the laurel leaves
Atop the Temple of Dis.
Now dry and brittle
Dusted with mold.

Sun-dried spray-tanned
Miniature mushrooms
on Mussolini’s balcony
Bankrolling the Ministry of Truth,
Redefining the length of an inch
So his paws don’t look
Quite so small.

Ossified arthritic
Vampiric leaches
Slithering calcified
Marbled hallways,
Bathing shining statues
Of founding fathers
In a darkness only
Diogenes’ lantern
Could cut through.

But Plato’s
Cave dwelling
Plucked chickens
Are blinded
By even the softest light.
Shackled to the
Shadow puppet show
In Caesar’s cellar,
Fuzzy flickering images
Distorted dancing shades,
Source of all that’s known
And nothing that’s real.

10/18-10/20/18