NVN Saturday: TFG—2 poems
“ WHAT A HORROR MOVIE REALLY LOOKS LIKE” by Gil Hoy and “ DONALD TRUMP BLUES” by Judy Juanita
WHAT A HORROR MOVIE REALLY LOOKS LIKE
by Gil Hoy
Nightcafé graphic
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I got up Wednesday and saw She won Vermont. Which led me to believe There was still hope. But then I saw she lost Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas California, Colorado, Massachusetts And all of the rest Which led me to believe He must be A Master Hypnotist. Which led me to believe Vermont is special. I love Vermont. I thought about Massachusetts. Which led me to believe Maybe the one state that Voted for McGovern Had changed over the past 52 years. Which led me to believe Maybe it was a good thing I moved to Arizona. To get a better handle on things In a swing state. Which led me to believe Maybe I should be talking to as Many of his supporters as I can To try to understand Where their brains have gone. To look for a cure Before it’s too late. Which led me to believe That this kind of thing Has happened before In democracies and the results Weren’t pretty. Pretty horrific in fact. Torture, genocide, politicide. Which led me to believe November might be the most Important election in history. Do or die we might say. Which led me to believe We ought to work like hell To protect what we have. Which led me to believe We ought to fight like hell ‘Til the fight is done. Which led me to believe The good guys need To keep on believing.
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Gil Hoy is a Best of the Net nominated Tucson, Arizona poet and writer who studied fiction and poetry at The Writers Studio and at Boston University. Hoy previously received a B.A. in Philosophy from Boston University, an M.A. in Government from Georgetown University, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a semi-retired trial lawyer and a former four-term elected Brookline, MA Selectman. Hoy’s poetry and fiction have previously appeared in Tipton Poetry Journal, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Chiron Review, Third Wednesday, The Galway Review, Right Hand Pointing, Rusty Truck, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, The Penmen Review, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Bewildering Stories, Literally Stories, The New Verse News, and elsewhere.
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DONALD TRUMP BLUES
by Judy Juanita
To the tune of Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold Em”
Craiyon graphic
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What have you got to lose? Dude, the Donald Trump blues & his one-man wrecking crew Only wall he's built is the wall between me and you We been disagreeing since his first run And that’s been half the fun Going to bed mad Waking up glad But this clown's not buying Kleenex For the tears that'll fall like rain When he slices up Social Security Makes the US Post Office history Gives those gainful jobs to red state Billy Bobs But you going behind my back To vote in this crackerjack Saying what we got to lose? The Donald Trump blues In 2016, we knew he was talking smack Bout Mexicans taking jobs from blacks We knew Sporting Life ain't picking cotton Ain’t going back to the lowly bottom We know he pits the po' against the po' The fear of being po'er than po’ A fire-breathing dragon ready to gun Down the country, the Constitution He already lit the fuse On January Sixth What you got to lose? This here’s your Wanted Dead or Alive moment Don't kill true love waiting on A rich man to keep his promise Clowns don't buy Kleenex What the hell he gon do next? That’s the for real Donald Trump blues This clown ain't buying Kleenex What the hell you gon do next? We all gotta lot to lose It’s no if-and-or-maybe What the hell we gon do Baby?
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Judy Juanita's latest book of poetry Gawdzilla equates the filmic Godzilla to US imperialism, racism, and sexism. Her first collection Manhattan my ass, you're in Oakland won the American Book Award 2021. Her short story collection The High Price of Freeways won the Tartt Fiction Award and was published by the University of West Alabama [Livingston Press, 2022]. Her semi-autobiographical novel Virgin Soul [Viking, 2013] follows a naive college journalism major in the 1960s who joins the Black Panther Party and ends up editing its weekly newspaper.