BLUE SUEDE

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The polished night
obsidian
shelters you in its cocoon
your perfect spot to stay put
and ruminate
until the dawn

You cannot remember
what is holding
America together--
some long lost ideal
of ultimate rightness
and robust potential 
perhaps
as seen (or constructed)
in Whitman's mind's eye

The young greeter wearing
the mask at the market
says you always wear 
the coolest shoes when
you come in...

You look down... 
Oh, those are my 
Blue Suede Shoes!

You are startled 
that a pleasant someone
barely on your radar before 
has taken note of you
when most who once bore
the heavy burden of 
significant other
surely haven't given you 
a thought in decades

 A reason to hold on
at least one more day
you say

Just to see what will happen
to America
caught up in an Agatha Christie
whodunit 
where you think you know
who's the bad guy
but do you really...
in a world where all the players
are complicit in the murder?

AND IT WAS GOOD

Greedy capitalists assault the senses

Every minute of the day

It’s the American way

I only ever tried

To sell myself

Often failing miserably

(but stuck with it)

Things that chap your ass

Are easily remedied 

If you’ll just get off of it

And take care of business

Now that would make

A good advertising slogan

(with a patriotic ring)

To help boost the economy

O America

Is there any hope for you now?

Whitman saw it all folding out

Into a glorious panorama

Scaling mountains

Pulling myself cautiously up 

And it was good.

Hold onto that romantic vision
America

Like the buffalo you decimated

It may yet make a comeback one day

When neighbor stops hating neighbor

And brother stops killing brother

Oh hey

Listen to me

You can still hear that

Wide-eyed idealist

Boarding the bus to the airport

To board the plane

And wing his way over the ocean

To a brand new life

And all because he took a chance

And got off his ass 

And followed his dream