What Rough Beast | Poem for February 20, 2017

Terence Degnan
the mind of a prsdnt

did yu c th wndrfl boats
cn u see th boats
are we not going to talk about thbts
Illcuncrt
the boats are in the belfry
the lam in on the lam
wht gd r nuclear wpns
if you nvr use thm

I’ve nvr mt ptn
I dnt kno ptn
why dnt you go whr Harlem fts
ptn on the Ritz

itl be a wndrfl wall
itl be a wndr
fl
wall
know wall lk no other
it’ll stretch frm mra-la-go to Hawaii
the lks are fcts
the fcts are fcts are illlgl
will catch the leaks in the act
we will lock the leakers
did yu cee th boats

itl be aye wndrfl glf crs
onc we drain th swmp
itl be aye wndrfl ingration
leest rcist prsdnt
leest rapy prsdnt
bigst win snce nxn

Icn cee Russia frm my htell
chyyyyynuh
wee wtchd fndng Dori
in th mstrs chmbr
brng me th bust ov MLK
I wnt 2 electoral cllge
nd mastrd in teevee
lt us pry for Arnld
lt us pry for th opn ning bell

are you a nice reporter
are you fake negative poll
are you I assume are good people
are you perhaps I’d be dating her
are you I tried to fuck her she was married
are you my fingers are long and beautiful
are you I could shoot somebody
are you on Fifth Avenue
are you and my voters
are you wouldn’t lose any

gnrl fln wz iz a good man
nt a ft pig
he cn see th boats
r we gna tlk abt th boats

 

Terence Degnan is the author of Still Something Rattles (Sock Monkey Press, 2016) and The Small Plot Beside the Ventriloquist’s Grave (Sock Monkey Press, 2012). His work has appeared in Prime Number Magazine, The Other Herald, and The OWS Poetry Anthology, as well as in the anthology, My Apocalypse (Sock Monkey Press, 2012). His two spoken word albums, BC (2008) and Calling Shotgun (2010) can be found on iTunes and Spotify.

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