Former New York Governor
Mario Cuomo
may you rest in peace.
In your 1984 address
to the Democratic National Convention
you gave a rebuttal
to Reagan's declaration
by saying that the United States
was not in fact
"a shining city on a hill"
but rather "A Tale of Two Cities."
Acknowledging the minor concessions
that would have to be made
you declared that Democrats
get their shit together
(to paraphrase several paragraphs)
so that
"no slick Madison Avenue commercial
no amount of geniality
no martial music
will be able to muffle
the sound of the truth"
but somewhat ironically
"not so much
with speeches that sound good
as with speeches
that are good and sound."
Now as for the time
you said
"You campaign in poetry.
You govern in prose"
well it is true
that this poet
would rather campaign forever
than ever get elected.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Mario Cuomo
may you rest in peace.
In your 1984 address
to the Democratic National Convention
you gave a rebuttal
to Reagan's declaration
by saying that the United States
was not in fact
"a shining city on a hill"
but rather "A Tale of Two Cities."
Acknowledging the minor concessions
that would have to be made
you declared that Democrats
get their shit together
(to paraphrase several paragraphs)
so that
"no slick Madison Avenue commercial
no amount of geniality
no martial music
will be able to muffle
the sound of the truth"
but somewhat ironically
"not so much
with speeches that sound good
as with speeches
that are good and sound."
Now as for the time
you said
"You campaign in poetry.
You govern in prose"
well it is true
that this poet
would rather campaign forever
than ever get elected.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
