Jacqueline Jules
This Century’s Code
“I am not a crook!”
Nixon declared on live TV
way back in 1973.
The country was captivated,
curious, concerned. Nixon knew
what we wanted to learn.
“I am not a crook!”
A five-word phrase
now infamous as antonym,
unsurpassed until
#Fake News, that familiar
White House Tweet
blasting doubt
east, west, and in between.
We quiver with questions.
Russia? Taxes? Obstruction? Fraud?
Watch spellbound
while CNN gets punched in the face.
Stay tuned
to our channel of choice,
anxious and irritable
waiting to see
if #Fake News
takes top spot
as this century’s code
for corruption.
Jacqueline Jules is the author of three chapbooks, Field Trip to the Museum (Finishing Line Press, 2014), Stronger Than Cleopatra (ELJ Publications, 2014), and Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String (Evening Street Press, 2017), winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize. Her poetry has appeared in The Broome Review, Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Hospital Drive, and Imitation Fruit, among other periodicals. She is also the author of 40 books for young readers. Visit jacquelinejules.com.
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