Diane Ray
POTUS, Flouter-in-Chief, and FLOTUS
early today were crashed by Covid which acted, as always,
unfazed, storming the gates of anyone, anywhere.
Stand back and stand by.
Stand by at the news that the flouters continued to send their emissaries
to close encounters at a round table, knowing full well they had flown
with the afflicted and could be superspreaders, but they had no
intention of standing back, masked or distanced, nor did they
cast a warning to the one who debated next to him.
The President’s handler stands maskless before the world, even upbeat, tissue
papering both cases in “mild” and rattling the keys of meaninglessness
since severity takes longer to storm. But at dusk, a waving, walking
President is en route to hospital to sample unproven antibodies.
Were the story Greek, Ate, goddess of mischief and folly, would
push herself to center stage and not be slighted standing back,
would continue to demand the star billing she commanded
all along the saga of this presidency.
Were it penned by Shakespeare, the personal worst would come
to pass, and the raving, presidential Lear would carry in his arms
the death of the only one he ever loved before dying
from poison-seeping Hubris.
Were it Faustian, the soul parceled between Putin and fine
terrorists would sink Into the nasty nether realm.
Were it penned by Melville, our present Ahab would drown in
an underestimated sea on a maniacal hunt to harpoon the bulk
of Democracy and keep his sceptral branding iron safe,
the handiest flimflam tool beyond this showman’s
wildest dreams before his launch as titular
head of the free world,
a role he never expected to play, it was all supposed to be an act,
a lark, not expecting mass murder to be his part in it but able
to shrug it off—after all, the people he doesn’t consider his
the most expended and expendable, but his people
fall sick and are dying, too, often their
only pre-existing condition:
trust.
—Submitted on 10/03/2020
Diane Ray is a Seattle psychologist and writer whose work has appeared in Women’s Studies Quarterly, Common Dreams, Drash, Cirque, In Layman’s Terms, and other journals.
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