Bumper Stickers I Have Known

Bumper Stickers I Have Known

 A broadside

Driving along,

I suddenly see 

 in the middle of the road

an honest politician 

and

slide to a halt, because

I brake for hallucinations

Signs all over

the neighborhood

sprouting like toxic mushrooms

the day before the elections

for every position from

assistant clerk to congressman

I wonder how  much deeper the ocean would be

without sponges?

Watching the debates

glassy-eyed at the onslaught

of uncut absurdity lightly mixed

with manipulation and tossed

in a dressing of lies,

I seem to hear someone say

You’re just jealous because the

voices only talk to ME!

Can we take your vote,

ignore every reason you

gave it to us, 

vacillate and compromise, 

walk away from change

 anyone 

could believe in,

then ask for it again?

Yes, We Can.

Because

There are only two kinds of Republicans:

Millionaires and Suckers.

Meanwhile 

I put my head

in my hands 

and sigh,

If assholes could fly

this place would be an airport.

October 2011

Posted for    Poetics   at dVerse Poets Pub

Brian Miller has been inspired by the concept of bumper sticker poetry this week, and is sharing it with the world. If you can jot down a bumper sticker's worth of thoughts, come join us.

Notes: A broadside is defined by dictionary .com as "any strong or comprehensive attack, as by criticism."

Obviously this isn't really much of a poem, but hopefully it's good for a laugh. Text in bold is derived from bumper stickers--that is, I didn't make it up to offend anyone. I've chosen to put them in a political context, and have removed some of the offensive content I originally came up with, but hopefully left enough to still tick somebody off, because I certainly am every time I think about the current state of our polity.