May 2017
j.lewis
jim.lewis@jimbabwe.com
I am not trained in the poetic arts to any extent other than having read poems here and there that I like. Still, poetry has always seemed to be the right vehicle for me to convey what I see, what I think, what I feel. My first book of poetry and photography a clear day in october http://www.amazon.com/clear-day-october-j-lewis/dp/168073055X was published in 2016, and a chapbook is forthcoming from Praxis Magazine this year.
 
rise and fall


the tithing of the semi-literate was paid in fear.
on the self-righteous alter of their ballots
they counted out coins of abhorrence
for sin too narrowly defined
judging morality to be
the avoidance of all things sexual;
shameful, unspeakable deeds.
 
they, the blind, blindly-led,
see nothing of the greater immorality
of children dead and dying,
the sudden widow,
the echoed screams,
unfinished dreams
of peace, of love, of life
 
spin, spin, and spin again
the cost of freedom is always death
the cost of death is immaterial
the cost of materials keeps the economy moving.
we give you embedded ears and eyes
so you may fear what you see, without seeing at all,
tremble at what you hear, without listening.
it is hyperbole turned hypnosis--
without us, your freedom will be gone
every shadow hides
a terrorist,
a devil,
a democrat
 
but be of good cheer
though you may fear:
if Trump be for us,
can God be against?
take no thought
for the weightier matters of The Law--
judgement, mercy, and faith;
the self-proclaimed national prophet
will dispense them
or dispense with them
as pleases his contributors
roll back the tax on those who have the most to give
and let those who bend under a growing burden beware
the number of the beast may be
six and six and six,
but his mark in your forehead
is a blazing scarlet “T”
© 2017 j.lewis
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