America Singing Proud

America Singing Proud
© Surazeus
2025 01 28

"I can no longer hear," Cassandra gasps 
in fake shock, "America singing proud 
of its great democracy in the world 
in varied carols of the common folk 
with mouths closed against sad sarcastic songs." 
Winking, she puffs short cigarette and laughs. 

Twanging electric guitar on bar stage, 
Jake Kalinsky howls in the microphone. 
"I sing with voice of wild rebellious clown 
who tried to save Ophelia when she drowned 
though she was bitten by the Eden snake 
because we know how rich people are fake." 

Drinking old beer by the alleyway door, 
Cassandra and Jake talk about the ghost 
who haunts dark shadows of the open mind, 
then go back inside crowded smoky bar 
to scream another song into the void 
while everyone jumps up and down and screams. 

The mechanic shivers in the cold night, 
the carpenter hides from immigrant agents, 
the mason growls for contract work unpaid, 
the boatman drives the rumbling garbage truck, 
the shoemaker in China cuts her hand, 
and the mother cries for her autistic child. 

The programmer codes for seven days straight, 
the accountant conceals embezzlement, 
the stock broker scams eager amateurs, 
the marketer obfuscates product flaws, 
the hacker steals private medical data, 
and the senator hawks bribe-funded bills. 

"I can no longer hear America 
singing beautiful carols of their hearts," 
Cassandra sings with melancholy tune, 
"for every noble principle of law 
they trusted to enforce justice for all 
has been betrayed by greedy oligarchs." 

Five drunken frat boys on the football team 
throw beer bottles at Cassandra on stage, 
shouting, "How dare you insult our messiah, 
you evil woke witch lesbian liberal whore." 
Jake and his band of punk rockers attack 
and violent brawl spills out onto the street. 

After the police arrest everyone, 
Cassandra slouches in the empty bar 
and cries while clutching her broken guitar, 
then walks home alone in early dawn light 
where flags at half mast honor with sad sighs 
death of the last great honest president.