Inauguration day.
\nThe clouds won’t go away.
\nThe sky above D.C. is almost dark.
\nThere’s protest down the block
\nfrom people still in shock.
\nThe contrast to the past events is stark.
\nOne remembers J.F.K.,
\nand what he said on that great day,
\nflanked by Jackie and the poet Frost.
\nNow there stands this man,
\norange is his tan.
\nOne can only think that all is lost.
\nAs he lays his small hand on the bible,
\nmodel wife beside, to take the oath,
\none thinks of his history of libel,
\nfeeling grief or disbelief, or both.
\n"Lock her up," and “Grab her by the pussy,"
\nshouts an angry voice within the crowd.
\n"Someone beat that man," says our electee,
\n“Hurt him badly, do your country proud."
\nSo begins the year of our undoing.
\nSilence is the order of the day.
\nUnder this, there is a violence stewing.
\nBuild a wall around yourself and pray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Inauguration day. The clouds won’t go away. The sky above D.C. is almost dark. There’s protest down the block from people still in shock. The contrast to the past events is stark. One remembers J.F.K., and what he said on that great day, flanked by Jackie and the poet Frost. Now there stands this man, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[3,4],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poem-2","tag-poem","tag-poetry-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2307,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2307","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":0},"title":"New Year’s Delay","author":"Rick Young","date":"December 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This new year's eve, there's no reprieve from ghosts of old years past. The orange pall which cloaked\u00a0us all now seems that it will last. It needs another twenty days to dissipate its\u00a0frisson, and then another several months to put that pall in prison. There'll be no horns or party\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1414,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=1414","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":1},"title":"Big Red Tie","author":"Rick Young","date":"June 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"What do you say to your father, Eric and Don? That all depends if the tape recorder's on. If it's rolling, then it's, Happy Father's Day! If it's not, then, What'd Putin send your way? We're both hoping it's a big red tie. Or a manual on how to lie.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1897,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=1897","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":2},"title":"Martin and Lewis, Together Again","author":"Rick Young","date":"July 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"John Lewis finally\u00a0crossed that bridge, he's on the other side. He now rests with Reverend\u00a0King, and we have one less guide. They broke his skull in Selma, as he, protesting, knelt. Served thirty years in Congress. His passion was heartfelt. He always worked for justice, used non-violence to fight strife.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Obit"","block_context":{"text":"Obit","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":973,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=973","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":3},"title":"Bright Red Raptor","author":"Rick Young","date":"November 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In my dream, a bright red raptor slept quietly, dreaming of man. Somewhere in the middle were history, reality. Then the worm of time slowly worked its way toward consciousness, within which, it was realized, I momentarily preferred the dream.","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":516,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=516","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":4},"title":"Percentage Point","author":"Rick Young","date":"January 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh, one percent, we're very sorry. Your time has just gone down, in glory. We've just agreed to feed the world and, in return, no rockets hurled, a peace over the very globe descended. All gods agreed to stand in tow, to watch a new plan bloom below, and hope,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":539,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=539","url_meta":{"origin":827,"position":5},"title":"Hydroplane Fetish","author":"Rick Young","date":"January 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The true man needs an armored vessel, heavy woolen gloves and many pelts; guns and knives, blunt tools and bullets, held in place by holsters clipped on belts. I admit to only one such need, racing storm-soaked streets at breakneck speed. 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