Never minding
that the Founders didn't want
an establishment of religion
in these United States
there's no reason America
shouldn't hand the mic
to Ted Cruz's
conservative Christian rapper groupies
We Are Watchmen
so they can
set ablaze "the voice of the Founding
speaking in the contemporary tongue"
in "Set It On Fire"
which starts off decently with
"It’s like we’re back
in the late ’70s
Labor force is dead
emboldened enemies"
and one can almost hear Eminem
stressing out before going on stage
in the lines
"When power is concentrated
centrally and federally
it creates dependency
that’s mentally like leprosy"
and sounding a little
like a recent grad
with an English degree
who is just so happy
to have found paying work
but okay
not bad.
And presumably
a shout-out to God's
intelligent design in
"We are the greatest nation
that’s ever been implanted on the planet"
and of course
"we never panic
when things get rough"
but rather perform
some seductive new dance move
in the name of free trade
and right-to-work laws when
"we put our hands up on the granite
and grind for righteousness."
Then finally revealing
the buried lede
we're asked to "imagine the Reagan revolution
part two
on our fingertips."
Luckily while we're doing that
the poor intern
re-checks the assignment
realizes he's short of the word count
and pens another verse
"We the people
are the future of our nation
we’ll never relinquish it
Let the American dream die?
Nah we’d never
even think of it
We’re at the brink of it
but we’ll survive.
We’re Washington and Lincoln’s kids."
It's a somewhat tortured rhyme
but it gets the point across
has some history
and is the best we can do
in Obama's America.
Then a call-and-response
for "courageous conservatives"
to "rise up and roll out."
Finally the last verse ends
"It only takes one spark to light the fire
We’re rising
reigniting the embers
that have been burning inside."
Writing is hard
and it's mean to mock
any sincere effort
but sadly
even the greatest MC
at the Grand Old Party
probably won't get the Millennial vote
as it's not the Cruz
but the destination.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Nothing's More Interesting
Mary Ellen Mark
the iconic and prolific photographer
who captured simply
the lives of people
on the margins
for example
in a trek to New York City
in 1967
where over the next several years
she acknowledged
in black and white
the existence of prostitutes
of Vietnam War protesters
of Women's Lib marchers
of transvestites
of the homeless
of those addicted to drugs
and of Times Square
(among other folks and places)
has died at 75.
Portraying one small part of the world
"as it is"
contrary to common sense
is still an art
performed by mere humans
which means that hashtags
like #NoFilter
will never be accurate
and accuracy
is an impossible goal
but to get at anything
resembling something like truth
we need
and will always need
more filters.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
the iconic and prolific photographer
who captured simply
the lives of people
on the margins
for example
in a trek to New York City
in 1967
where over the next several years
she acknowledged
in black and white
the existence of prostitutes
of Vietnam War protesters
of Women's Lib marchers
of transvestites
of the homeless
of those addicted to drugs
and of Times Square
(among other folks and places)
has died at 75.
Portraying one small part of the world
"as it is"
contrary to common sense
is still an art
performed by mere humans
which means that hashtags
like #NoFilter
will never be accurate
and accuracy
is an impossible goal
but to get at anything
resembling something like truth
we need
and will always need
more filters.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Double Rainbows Over Dublin
Congratulations Ireland
for becoming the first country
to make same-sex marriage legal
by way of popular vote
with a final tally
of 37.9 percent No
to 62.1 percent Yes.
Just like the US
(and in other ways not)
Ireland has its unfair share
of stymiers of social progress
but if God proclaims on high
His approval
of referendums passed
in the name of equality
that should convince anyone
except those
who have come around
to liking sun and rain
and appreciating everything
about them as individuals
but still get squicked out
about rainbows.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
for becoming the first country
to make same-sex marriage legal
by way of popular vote
with a final tally
of 37.9 percent No
to 62.1 percent Yes.
Just like the US
(and in other ways not)
Ireland has its unfair share
of stymiers of social progress
but if God proclaims on high
His approval
of referendums passed
in the name of equality
that should convince anyone
except those
who have come around
to liking sun and rain
and appreciating everything
about them as individuals
but still get squicked out
about rainbows.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Adult Acceptance of Transition
Robert Gates
current president
of the Boy Scouts of America
has called for an end
to the long-standing ban
on gay leaders.
When addressing the organization
during its annual meeting
he said
"We must deal
with the world as it is
not as we might wish it to be.
The status quo
in our movement’s membership standards
cannot be sustained."
There's another prominent group
that has taken the hard road
of personal introspection
as they choose to bow
to society's slowly-but-surely-changing
tide of opinion
and even say a sad farewell
to the beloved old guard
in the name
of younger
and fresh-faced leadership
which is
Worldwide Pants Incorporated.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
current president
of the Boy Scouts of America
has called for an end
to the long-standing ban
on gay leaders.
When addressing the organization
during its annual meeting
he said
"We must deal
with the world as it is
not as we might wish it to be.
The status quo
in our movement’s membership standards
cannot be sustained."
There's another prominent group
that has taken the hard road
of personal introspection
as they choose to bow
to society's slowly-but-surely-changing
tide of opinion
and even say a sad farewell
to the beloved old guard
in the name
of younger
and fresh-faced leadership
which is
Worldwide Pants Incorporated.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Six Years In
There is little
that "Bey"(once) and "Jay" (Z)
do quietly
but what has been quiet
are the couple's donations
of tens of thousands of dollars
to bail out protesters
arrested in Baltimore
at least according
to the activist "Dream Hampton"
who ghostwrote Jay Z's
2010 memoir "Decoded"
but later deleted
her original tweets
with that claim
due to a twinge
of Twitter regret.
And just as Obama
is now occasionally
tapping into his plentiful
six-year store
of accumulated moxie and chutzpah
and temerity
today he has been granted
a personal Twitter account
under the name "@POTUS"
to deal with that
of his followers.
(Luckily it's only
1.16 million so far.)
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
that "Bey"(once) and "Jay" (Z)
do quietly
but what has been quiet
are the couple's donations
of tens of thousands of dollars
to bail out protesters
arrested in Baltimore
at least according
to the activist "Dream Hampton"
who ghostwrote Jay Z's
2010 memoir "Decoded"
but later deleted
her original tweets
with that claim
due to a twinge
of Twitter regret.
And just as Obama
is now occasionally
tapping into his plentiful
six-year store
of accumulated moxie and chutzpah
and temerity
today he has been granted
a personal Twitter account
under the name "@POTUS"
to deal with that
of his followers.
(Luckily it's only
1.16 million so far.)
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Beale Street Blues Boy
The thrill is gone
but not forgotten.
"I never use
that word
'retire.'"
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
but not forgotten.
"I never use
that word
'retire.'"
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Cultural Currency
The lobbying group
Women On 20s
is campaigning for Harriet Tubman
to appear on the twenty-dollar bill.
Not merely someone
who routed hundreds of people
out of legal captivity
during the Civil War
she was a scout
a cook
a nurse and a spy.
Other than the "politically correct"
line of reasoning
that present occupier
of the bill
Andrew Jackson
was kind of a big meanie
given that one of her nicknames
was "Minty"
(short for her birth name Araminta)
one would get to call
a wallet full of twenties
"Minty Fresh".
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Women On 20s
is campaigning for Harriet Tubman
to appear on the twenty-dollar bill.
Not merely someone
who routed hundreds of people
out of legal captivity
during the Civil War
she was a scout
a cook
a nurse and a spy.
Other than the "politically correct"
line of reasoning
that present occupier
of the bill
Andrew Jackson
was kind of a big meanie
given that one of her nicknames
was "Minty"
(short for her birth name Araminta)
one would get to call
a wallet full of twenties
"Minty Fresh".
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
We Would Live 4 U
The deliberately elusive Prince
has kicked off
his one-stop "Rally 4 Peace" tour
at the Royal Farms Arena
in Baltimore
with his new song
aptly titled "Baltimore."
His message is one
that mothers
and fathers
and just humans in general
and probably other species
have tried to rationalize
that "Nobody got in nobody's way
so I guess you could say
it was a good day"
so I guess you could say
it was a good day"
but with the nagging feeling underneath
that "Peace is more
than the absence of war."
Still Fox News
will point out
that the line
"Let's take all
the guns away"
means he's lobbying
for Hillary
and maybe
that's only part of the solution
but then again
they've never claimed
to be part
of the solution.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
A Rand-some Price for Freedom
To celebrate the Appeals Court
declaring illegal the NSA's
mass phone data collection program
Rand Paul reminds you
while the government
still has access to The Interwebs
(including The Facebooks)
to head on over
to his online store
and get yourself
an NSA Spy Cam blocker
for $15.00
never minding
that you can get a whole roll
of masking tape
for one-third or less
of the price
while helping your friends
block their computers' and devices' webcams
at the same time.
But to make up for that
you'll have to buy
his thousand-dollar signed copy
of the Constitution.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
declaring illegal the NSA's
mass phone data collection program
Rand Paul reminds you
while the government
still has access to The Interwebs
(including The Facebooks)
to head on over
to his online store
and get yourself
an NSA Spy Cam blocker
for $15.00
never minding
that you can get a whole roll
of masking tape
for one-third or less
of the price
while helping your friends
block their computers' and devices' webcams
at the same time.
But to make up for that
you'll have to buy
his thousand-dollar signed copy
of the Constitution.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
She Comes Back to Me
If the debris
from Halley's Comet
is visible
in your part of the world
at approximately
nine in the morning
Eastern Daylight Time Wednesday
remember that
an uncaring universe
even at a negative
454 degrees Fahrenheit
is not necessarily
the same
as a "cold" universe
more like a "chill" one
perhaps just waiting for us
to clean up our own trash
and that Eminem's 2002 "Hailie's Song"
was about his daughter
who did not
spawn the comet
though she was proudly crowned
Homecoming Queen
in October 2013.
Dr. Ben Carson
thinks hip-hop is disrespectful
to modern values
of decency and respect
but nonetheless launched
his 2016 presidential campaign
with a gospel choir rendition
of her father's 2003 song
"Lose Yourself."
Barring any definite outside answer
one can only guess
that the universe
has just one message
for us
equal parts terrifying
and hopeful that
"Everything in the universe
that can happen
will happen
(eventually)."
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
from Halley's Comet
is visible
in your part of the world
at approximately
nine in the morning
Eastern Daylight Time Wednesday
remember that
an uncaring universe
even at a negative
454 degrees Fahrenheit
is not necessarily
the same
as a "cold" universe
more like a "chill" one
perhaps just waiting for us
to clean up our own trash
and that Eminem's 2002 "Hailie's Song"
was about his daughter
who did not
spawn the comet
though she was proudly crowned
Homecoming Queen
in October 2013.
Dr. Ben Carson
thinks hip-hop is disrespectful
to modern values
of decency and respect
but nonetheless launched
his 2016 presidential campaign
with a gospel choir rendition
of her father's 2003 song
"Lose Yourself."
Barring any definite outside answer
one can only guess
that the universe
has just one message
for us
equal parts terrifying
and hopeful that
"Everything in the universe
that can happen
will happen
(eventually)."
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
May Poll
(Sung around the May Pole)
(Adapted from old English May Day song "Padstow Hobby Horse")
Unite and unite
(Brian Russell)
and let us all unite
(Skip Andrews)
for poll-summer (Marco Rubio)
is a-coming today
(Ted Cruz)
and whither we are going
(Kerry Bowers)
we all will as-if unite
(Chris Hill)
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
(Michael Petyo)
of May
(Michael Kinlaw).
The declared candidates
(John Dummett, Jr.)
of the GOP
they might if they would
for poll-summer is a-coming today
(Rand Paul)
they might have (Mark Everson) built a 'paign
with unkept promises
Fox News would call bold
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May.
The exploring maidens
(Carly Fiorina)
of the GOP and the men
(Rick Santorum)
they might if they would
for poll-summer
(Bobby Jindal)
is a-coming today
(Lindsey Graham)
they might defend the blue blood
with the stars white
(Rick Perry)
and stripes red
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May
(Dr. Ben Carson).
Now fare you well
(George Pataki)
and we bid you all good cheer
(Dennis Michael Lynch)
for poll-summer (Mike Huckabee)
is a-coming today
(Jeb Bush).
Till you call still more
(Chris Christie)
unto the White House
in another year
(Donald Trump)
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
(Adapted from old English May Day song "Padstow Hobby Horse")
Unite and unite
(Brian Russell)
and let us all unite
(Skip Andrews)
for poll-summer (Marco Rubio)
is a-coming today
(Ted Cruz)
and whither we are going
(Kerry Bowers)
we all will as-if unite
(Chris Hill)
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
(Michael Petyo)
of May
(Michael Kinlaw).
The declared candidates
(John Dummett, Jr.)
of the GOP
they might if they would
for poll-summer is a-coming today
(Rand Paul)
they might have (Mark Everson) built a 'paign
with unkept promises
Fox News would call bold
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May.
The exploring maidens
(Carly Fiorina)
of the GOP and the men
(Rick Santorum)
they might if they would
for poll-summer
(Bobby Jindal)
is a-coming today
(Lindsey Graham)
they might defend the blue blood
with the stars white
(Rick Perry)
and stripes red
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May
(Dr. Ben Carson).
Now fare you well
(George Pataki)
and we bid you all good cheer
(Dennis Michael Lynch)
for poll-summer (Mike Huckabee)
is a-coming today
(Jeb Bush).
Till you call still more
(Chris Christie)
unto the White House
in another year
(Donald Trump)
in the Prez "Barry" scorning
of May.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
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