An Exceptionally American Virus

Posted on 2020-07-27 by Bartholomew Barker

American Virus.jpg

(I’ll be posting this poem in a more social media friendly format to the big three: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you approve, please like and share. Here’s the raw text of the poem for the search engines.)

An Exceptionally American Virus

Our government is infected
by a Republican virus
leaving it irritable and lethargic
and we are the cure.

It lacks conscience,
holds no principles,
seeks only power
and we are the cure.

Money is the vector.
It wants mindless consumers,
instead of engaged citizens
and we are the cure.

It suppresses our vote,
stifles our speech,
spurns our protest
and we are the cure.

At least the Democrats
can be prodded and shamed
into doing the right thing
once we put them in office.

So Stay Loud,
Stay Alive,
Stay Registered
and Vote!

We are the Cure.

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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10 Responses to An Exceptionally American Virus

  1. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2020-07-27 at 17:06

    #DemocracyOpenMic

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Kritika Maheshwari's avatar Kritika says:
    2020-08-11 at 14:19

    Awesome write. 👍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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