The nation formerly known as the United States of America has revealed its new name –– Trumpiana Unum Aeternitas.
—Fox News, June 22, 2022
.
Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush,
Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump–
but please, please,
don’t let me die on this president’s watch!
But how about a twofer? Take me out, God,
but take him, too. No? Okay, I get it,
even under the okay presidents, we were
all about money, helping the rich, kicking
down the poor, and either killing black people
or putting them in jail. So this one is what
we deserve. After he gets a war and a recession
going, he’ll arrest our children and hold them
hostage until we’ve praised him sufficiently
and denounced all the other presidents.
Copyright 2019 David Huddle
David Huddle’s ninth poetry collection, My Surly Heart, will appear from LSU Press later this year.