Joe Balaz
IN DIS NEWFANGLED OZ
Da candidate’s hair
looked like da tail fins of wun ’57 Chevy
as he orated his position
wit tinsel and tingle
promising to improve everyting
including da empty refrigerator
to da kitchen sink.
Born wit wun king size
silver spoon in his mouth
and wun golden parachute
before he even got on da plane
da advantages of family wealth
endowed him wit wun cushy platform.
Amazingly
his message of opportunity foa all
wuz being swallowed down whole.
It’s all about class
and levels of influence
dat truly shapes da strategy
behind da big green curtain
in dis newfangled Oz.
Da wizard at da controls of da machine
wit his peripheral eyes on da status quo
has every intention
to keep da rich and powerful on top
while many below
are being compressed like coal
to feed da burning furnaces.
It’s only wun campaign wish
dat he would cater to da totem rather den da tower
and take da time to really see
all da faces beneath da penthouse view.
—Poets Respond
September 18, 2016
__________
Joe Balaz: “Earlier in my writing endeavors I had written a poem for a conference in Honolulu on Pidgin (Hawai’i Creole English) called ‘Da History of Pigeon.’ One of the people in the audience was a professor and writer from the United Kingdom. She contacted me later to acquire permission to publish the poem in her new book which dealt with different kinds of Creole languages. The book was eventually published in London, England. The unexpected reach and impact of poetry always fascinates me. This Hawaiian Island Pidgin poem relates to the intriguing campaign for the presidency of the United States of America. It uses satire to focus on one of the candidates that has presented himself as an outsider and agent of change.”
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