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I – Glory Be...

Tom Schaffer
an excerpt (or first part) from the longer poem, “America”

Glory be to America!

Glory be to the Populist Politicians of Washington,
District of Columbia, all Optimates – all Boss Tweed Senators
– Controlling Capitol Hill – the new Tammany Hall! Glory be to the lobbyist
And the kickbacks. Glory to Old Glory flapping on the phallic
Staff. Glory be to the school morning pledge indoctrinating
Children into believing that this political machine was
“for the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”

Glory be to modern medicine! American in every way. Glory be to patented prescriptions and
The two waiting rooms for a treatment, never a cure. Cures can’t cure
the narrowed profit margin.
Glory be to the transformation of human beings into dollar amounts! Insurance, a
Casino, Mafia run. The doctors break knees because our HMO don’t cover extortion.
Glory be to treating, not healing, not curing.

Glory be to the private sector! Glory be to G.E. Standard Oil, US-Steel, Comwealth-Edison, Goldman-Sachs, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase. Glory be to the Fortune 500 and glory be to
Forbes’s top 20. Glory be to the Rockefellers, Steve Schwarzman, the Koch brothers (and their tea party tea bagging the statue of liberty).
They all used to spend the weekend at Bernie Maydoff’s Hampton Home. Glory be to 747 Park Ave, NYC. Glory be to the billionaires bringing back child labor, albeit somewhere else so why should we care? Glory be to Apathy!

Glory be to the fountain sodas and fast-food! Glory be to the brain rot cancer
Caused by diet sodas. Glory be to Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola.
Glory be to High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Glory be to the factory farms and the little, anonymous parcels plastic wrapped purchased at
The supermarket. Glory be to the hormones, anti-biotics, animal cannibalism, and the carcass.
Glory be to Monsanto. Glory be to DDT, pesticides, and preservatives.

Glory be to Napalm! Agent Orange! The Bunker Buster! Atom bombs!
Glory be to Oppenheimer and, “HAVOC!” as we let the leash slip out
Of our hands. Glory be to the Dogs of War!
Glory be to Vietnam, Korea, Bay of Pigs, Operations, “Just Cause” “Desert Storm” “Iraqi Freedom” and the CIA. Glory be to JSOC Praetorian Guard of American Imperators

Glory be to the secrets! NSA spying, phone taps, and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Glory be to the media! New York Times & Time magazine tell us who
To fear today. Fear them Burqas they’re different! They won’t show
Their faces, therefore, therefore, therefore, we cannot trust them! KILL
Them that we have harmed, fucked, denigrated. Glory be to the wars
Overseas – the White Man’s Burden. Glory be to the patriotic fanatic.
Glory be to Jingoism.

Glory be to the end user license agreement. Facebook, Twitter, Apple
Prostituted privacy of the common human seeking connection with common
Human. Glory be to the fine print! Glory to our sweatshop cellphones!

Glory be to the Church of the Almighty Dollar. Its steeple scrapes the
Sky. Glory be to the Oil Spill floating fish cadavers and the rape of
Our mother, Nature. Glory be to Deregulation, and our Deaths! Glory to
The Clear-Channel Monopoly! Glory be to the trickle down and laissez-faire
Capitalism. Glory be to the free market! Glory be to the Status Quo.

Glory be to the rape of our Bill of Rights and the rape of the inner
City human rights. Glory be to the poor people’s gunshot wounded kids.
Playground. South Side Chicago. Easter Weekend, 2014. Gang Related
Once again. Glory be to Apathy!
Glory be to the police state PATRIOT Act.

GLORY BE TO THE DOLLAR SIGN. GENUFLECT BEFORE ITS ALMIGHTY
PRESENCE! BOW YOUR HEAD TO ITS SACRIFICE!
Glory be to greed, the new Lamb of God.

Yes. Glory be to us.
Standing alone on subway platforms
In this caffeinated, medicated,
World without end.
Amen

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