January 6, a poem by wasakalobo

||| FROM W. A. SCHMIDT |||

January 6
A poem by wasakalobo

Humiliation comes in forms
We often least expect
When grounded way beyond the norms
To which we pay respect

January sixth was an event
When hate came home to roost
Feigning legitimate dissent
By those in fact seduced

Incited by an evil man
They kill, destroy and maim
See themselves part of his vile clan
Subscribe to his foul aim

To retain power at all cost
Democracy be damned
With zest the Rubicon be crossed
And the Republic slammed

Jim Crow clichés on full display
Revealed the mob’s true face
All the while crowing “USA!”
Capped these acts of disgrace

Ochlocracy is what we call
The rule by such a mob
That roaringly rushed down The Mall
Performed their hatchet job

Adding insult to injury
By hurling Stars and Stripes
As spears of utter infamy
Just to express the gripes

Their losing Leader had instilled
In their receptive minds
By demagoguery so skilled
That its appearance blinds

Even the less extremist souls
Who’d risk unwonted harm
To carry out their Leader’s goals
Beguiled by odious charm

A few who learned the art of war
To keep us all secured
Broke their own oath and so much more
Became instead unmoored

Stripped of compunction yet at ease
Their nihilistic thrill
Equals autoimmune disease
Attacks the people’s will

Instead of keeping foes at bay
That lurk beyond the sea
They undermine, fake Bastille Day
They’re freedom’s apogee

For there’s no tyranny to end
No despot to eject
No infringed rights hence to defend
But rather to protect

The Constitution as it stands
In liberty conceived
Abhorring all such cultish brands
That exploit the aggrieved

The Free World’s watching with concern
How frail our system is
And if we’re capable to learn
Having glimpsed the abyss

Democracy precarious
The rule of law in stress
The future will be perilous
If further we regress

Despite the deadly cost of wrath
The Cult still casts its pall
The insurrection’s aftermath
Humiliates us all

Yet if we hold accountable
Those acting so depraved
The rift may be surmountable
And the Republic saved

© W.A. Schmidt 2021