squashed pinks

pinks of dawn meagre and pale

behind whitish-blue-gray

solid bank of cloud

ruddy flush of vivid sun rising

livid at its struggle to be seen

appeared flattened, squashed

between now darker blue cloud layers

fit to be tied to the sky

without give-way to night

for days on end      

pledge a loyalty

we pledge a loyalty to the red tie

and to the republicans for which

it stands, one country, under maga

irreconcilable, with liberty and justice

for all except those on the list deemed

a rival party or people

—poor us, Bluffo

volume setting

claxon of threat

whisper of hope

not yet

not yet

frightened? yes, a little

all my life i’ve been independent

but now the vertigo threatens; the pandemic limits

the grass grows to my waist; cobwebs drape from high ceilings

over six months i’ve grown old

but not old enough to give in