History Often Rhymes, II: "disembodied Mouth"
written in response to the Convicted Felon's "state-of-the-nation address"
in flickering light
the disembodied Mouth drifts
rumbling
Make America Great Again...
the play runs minutes, then years
FYI: The disembodied Mouth in the tanka is a socio-satirical echo of Samuel Beckett’s Not I: a fragmented, rapid-fire monologue spoken by a brightly lit mouth suspended in darkness, recounting traumatic life events while frantically avoiding the first-person pronoun, “I.”
And Al Jazeera, December 18, 2025: Five key takeaways from Trump’s state-of-the-nation address
I He blamed immigrants for the US’s problems
go back
where you came from ...
a yellow leaf
tossing and turning
with each gust of wind
II He promised an ‘economic boom’ in 2026
a MAGA pin
on this old man's breast pocket ...
his patience
stretched to the limit
by a breadline blocks ahead
III He claims he brought peace to the Middle East
War Is Peace
pyramid
after pyramid of rubble ...
again "ceasefire" strikes
fireball by fireball ...
the length
of a Gazan night
smoky twilight
a cry sinks into the sound
of a gunshot
skeletal houses
these layers of silence
upon silence
IV He announced a ‘warrior dividend’ for US troops
V He did not mention Venezuela tensions
the Don posed
behind the Resolute Desk
with fingers cocked
for the cameras' rapid fire ...
a map crossed with red X’s
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