Lincoln's Chair

By Robert Houghtaling
Posted 12/20/16

By ROBERT HOUGHTALING Throw in a little religion Your God is not like ours Add in a lot of oil So smoke can blot out shining stars Then reward all the greedy And forget some precepts and ideals To create the present atmosphere That for many seems unreal

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Lincoln's Chair

Posted

Throw in a little religion

Your God is not like ours

Add in a lot of oil

So smoke can blot out shining stars

Then reward all the greedy

And forget some precepts and ideals

To create the present atmosphere

That for many seems unreal

The tired and poor abandoned

All men appear unequal

New leaders seem not to care

Waiting an Apprentice sequel

Much of this has happened

On the screens before our eyes

Many have become so confused

By truths backed up with lies

Charisma played the harpsichord

To tunes sung by Huey Long

Exciting the frightened masses

Who desired that same old song

Ancient reason watched from a distance

With friends atop a spire

Praying to Mother Emanuel

Who wore a crown of briars

The Kremlin helped pick a president

Who will sit upon Lincoln’s chair

While Washington and Roosevelt

Will cry out in despair

And no one knows what happened

To Lady Liberty along the way

As she’s been stolen by imposters

From Big Business and the NRA

Atlas merely shrugged it off

As lefty leaning weeping

Choirs of generals and billionaires

Suggested we go back to sleeping

A few grumbled on the city streets

But were soon brought under control

By football games and the Internet

That helps sedate the soul

Once folks like Dylan and Baez

Sang out on people’s behalf

Now we seem guided by a media

That has forgotten how to laugh

King has been relegated to a Holiday

As his children still suffer much

And Latinos, Muslims and Women’s concerns

Are considered too hot to touch

Perhaps soon Cohen’s Democracy

Will come to the USA

For it appears as though our compass

Has been misplaced or put away

While waiting for the pendulum

To produce a balanced swing

We can all pray that America

Will make the Cracked Bell ring Robert Houghtaling, director of the East Greenwich drug program, is a frequent contributor to these pages.

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    Is the author IN the drug program, or the director? The hatred that pens this poem is indicative of why the libs lost. The president elect is not even in office and the hatred has begun.

    Friday, December 23, 2016 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    It bears repeating: "If you want to know what the Left is up to, just see what they're accusing the Right of doing".

    Thursday, December 29, 2016 Report this