What About Everyman?

Whatever happened to the everyman’s voice,

The one who stood for the farmer’s choice?

For the city folk who rise at dawn,

Working hard, their dreams not yet gone,

A better roof for their children’s heads,

A hospital bed, where hope is spread and medicine is plenty,

A school to enlighten, food to nourish,

Roads to tread, dreams to flourish.

A train to go from coast to coast,

And a light of opportunity and righteousness,

‍

But now, as I look at this election’s stage,

I’m perplexed, lost in this modern age.

A plutocrat arming the mob as his ear is grazed,

Claiming no fear, he promises to drain the swamp,

But is this our hero, or a stain on the jeans of our ideals?

‍

The strong man claims he’ll help us all,

Boom times and oil, his siren call,

But his record’s clear, with his pockets lined,

He’ll leave us with a bag of coal–behind.

He rallied the freedom fighters,

They kicked their feet on the desks of the Senators in dignity,

Is justice found in a lynch mob’s cry?

‍

Meanwhile, Kamala waves the flag of the free,

But left a trail of her people behind bars,

Moneyed interests pull the strings both left and right,

But the blue ties clip wings just the same,

‍

For the everyman, what’s left not to despise?

When those in power spin only lies.

Talking down, locking up,

Little Johnny turns into Little Suzy, filling the cup of excuses,

A mockery that leaves us on our knees begging for mercy.

‍

So, what happened to the everyman’s dream,

Where life could be more than it seems?

To raise a family, to grind, to soar,

To push science beyond the shore.

Fireworks that stand for more,

Than flashes of dynamite and war.

I’m still searching, looking for truth,

For he, or she, or it, or the collective youth.

‍

But by then, will it be too late?

The planet burning, sealing our fate,

No life left to see the new day,

The monsoon of the fat cat, washing us all away,

Vanquished, back to biology's stew.