day FOUR HUNDRED and FIVE

the framer

the framer

sits in the semi-dark

of his once-thriving business

wearing his USA hat

and 9/11 never forget t-shirt

he’s waiting on america

to become great again

for a renaissance in wall-hangings

or a great solar flare

in the meanwhile he’s had to sell

half his business to an insurance company

so every day a bunch of elitist swine in suits

take up space in his shop

where the prints and framed photos

of republican presidents playing poker used to be

they play their music out into the street

have set up tables for insurance information

they’ve even taken up half the marquee

above the store

it’s pretty obvious who runs the show now

but the framer

sits there as if he’s looking for lost time

he put his trust in another charlatan politician

disguised as the working man

and little by little his whole life continues to be taken away

because there’s no bailout coming for his kind

no savior in the guise of another gilded philistine courting votes

walking garbage opportunists with rhetoric and little else

it just is what it is

another dupe falling for the institution that professes to back him

another dream dashed in america

another life’s work dying like a wounded animal

i want to feel bad for the framer

but i just wish america made smarter people

real bootstrappers who didn’t fall for rhetoric

people who didn’t wear their ignorance on their chests and heads

like badges of honor

i wish that i could give the framer some business

but these days

even i won’t sink so low.

--John Grochalski