An Inaugural Valedictory
Perhaps one inadvertent purpose
The massive hordes of peaceful people served,
At the swearing-in ceremony of Barack H. Obama,
Was to exacerbate the vast popular repudiation
Of the outgoing president, George W. Bush,
Heighten the looming sense of his administration's disgrace,
Make his final exit from the capital, after the inauguration,
Appear like a demoralizing replay
Of the final evacuation of the American embassy in Saigon,
After U.S. forces had packed it in, retreated ignominiously,
As Vietcong troops asserted their supremacy —
That last helicopter lifting off the roof, in desperation.
Watching Barack and Michelle, Joe and Jill,
Wave from the steps on the east side of the Capitol,
As George, along with his family, lifted off,
Circled the Mall, for one final view of the scene of his crimes
(In the same way he surveyed Katrina's New Orleans ravages,
From Air Force One: empty-headedly),
Millions of Americans, gathered at TV's and JumboTrons,
Couldn't help but be reminded of those silver-screen desperadoes
Hightailing it the hell out of Tombstone,
Before bounty hunters could bring them back, dead or alive,
For having robbed and torched the town's bank...
Only, this time, the escape was in a Sikorsky, not on a horse,
With a one-way ticket, on the taxpayers' dime, to Crawford,
Where he'll butt heads with cactuses,
Praying time will untangle the history he's twisted into barbwire.
01/20/09 - (2)
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