“One thing all of this makes clear is that the sickness of American politics didn’t begin with Donald Trump, any more than the sickness of the Roman Republic began with Caesar. The erosion of democratic foundations has been underway for decades, and there’s no guarantee that we will ever be able to recover.
But if there is any hope of redemption, it will have to begin with a clear recognition of how bad things are. American democracy is very much on the edge.”
– Paul Krugman, How Republics End
The Opinion Pages, The New York Times
When a body has harbored disease
with few symptoms to trigger unease,
just before its demise,
a clue may arise
that reveals how it failed by degrees.
© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017
Though failing for years by degrees,
the body, infested by fleas,
succumbed to infection
by way of election
and rapidly fell to its knees.
© Lily Beth Baker, 2017
It rapidly fell to its knees
in denial of all guarantees.
With equality’s torch
buried under the porch
it’s emitting the ultimate wheeze.
© Mary Boren, 2017
Emitting the ultimate wheeze
as it drifted aloft on the breeze,
the hint of a spark
arose in the dark
to offer a moment to seize.
© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017