A STICK IN THE EYE by Dennis Doph

out there. 5

As I sit
Listening to Lenny Bernstein dissect tone poems
by Ernest Bloch
I feel as if I have crawled under the nearest clammy rock
Used to feel smart as hell; now I feel like a dunce
Remembering my enthusiasm -- the way I felt once
Once not so long ago when I squandered my energy
On a new Administration Different as different could be

Now we have sliced into a really rotten piece of pie
What we have got is a fucking stick in the eye
In this naive assumption of being fair and all-inclusive
We have entered new territory which is more than elusive
Asked to make nice with a bigot who calls you "Honeychile"
Then labels you and all your near and dear
Incestuous and pedophile

Once I was honored to be asked to this maypole dance
I won't be a part of this procession of bigotry and ignorance
A parade of exclusion which evidently has no end
Led by Everybody's Pal who absolutely must be
his and his and his and his best friend
Best friend to bigots is not an achievement of which I'd boast
When this Evangelical shit would give aversion therapy
and lead you (smiling) to the whipping post

Oh!
They're all so solemn Sympathetic through and through
I won't be a part of this unappetizing stew
My citizenship has been reduced to being strictly second class
And this kind of naivete
frankly
is a first class pain in the ass
So while our President-Elect sits in Maui
with the lights conveniently off
I'd be obliged if his handlers dragged him out of
this uncomprehending trough
Remove from his unseeing eyes this unassailable sty
With this message:
This Rick Warren bullshit just will not fly

Being Everybody's Pal is not something one can do with ease
Because, Barack Old Buddy,
When you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.