An Inaugural Advent Wreath of Cinquains
By John
Roche
An Inaugural Advent Wreath of Cinquains
(Counting down the days and hours)
by John Roche
Poetry Playhouse Publications Placitas NM
These 56 poems appeared daily on Facebook from Thanksgiving Day 2020 to January 20, 2021 as a countdown to the Inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris
Cover photo by Jules Nyquist Citation for 1/21/21 “quieted the car alarm”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/donald-trumppresidency-ends.html?referringSource=articleShare
ISBN: 9798697863312 Printed in the United States of America Copyright ©2021 Poetry Playhouse Publications, all rights reserved. www.poetryplayhouse.com
Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks, The unknown road still marching. —Walt Whitman, “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown”
Thanksgiving 2020: 54 Days Out * Supreme Court rules religious bakers may bake a COVID cake ***
53 Days * #DiaperDon trends on Twitter He whinges and whines Loses suit after suit BIGLY ***
52 Days * The Bidens get a First Cat to join their First Dogs while Trump “wags the dog” Will Iran bite back or bide its time? ***
51 Days * Brexit before Trump exit? Inquiring minds prefer Royals gossip ***
The 50 Day Mark * Joe Biden reads his daily intel briefing consults with experts names cabinet and advisor picks bides his time prays there’ll be something left to govern ***
49 Days * Year One was Pay-to-Play Year Two was Pay the Mistress Year Three was Quid Pro Quo Year Four was COVID Profiteering and Bribes for Pardons The Swamp King is stunningly consistent ***
48 Days * Trump advisors and appointees starting to jump the sinking ship Soon he’ll have no one left but his caddy and the waiters at Mar-a-Lago or maybe a turnkey in Sing Sing ***
47 Days * Mystery Monolith dismantled by MAGATS shouting, “Christ is King here. We don’t want no aliens from Mexico or outer space!” Apparently not a Borat skit. ***
46 Days * Trump rants His lawyers rave Suit after suit is dismissed No worries! They’ve created a Perpetual Donor Machine ***
45 Days * Turns out, Rudy’s word-slurring witness is an actress Rudy knows, the madder the show the more the rubes’ll pay ***
44 Days * “Out, Demons, Out!” The Fugs chanted in 2017 Exorcism of the White House On Jan. 20, 2021, we need a smudging, fumigation, de-lousing of the entire country ***
43 Days * ‘Twas the season of masked revellers and armed rebellers of evil elves plotting to overturn the election of Monoliths appearing and disappearing of “Deck the Halls” replaced by “Stop the Steal” of Georgia Senate candidate debating an empty chair ***
42 Days * “Safe Harbor” for Electoral College, reached, but no Safe Harbor for American Democracy. Maybe a temporary stop to repair and reprovision, then outward bound, “Now, voyager, sail thou forth...” ***
41 Days * Will Shakespeare of Warwickshire was the first man vaccinated in England at Coventry, just 20 miles north of Stratford-on-Avon “It could make a difference to our lives from now on, couldn’t it?” Mr. Shakespeare, 81, said ***
40 Days and 40 Nights * The ghouls keep returning from the dead— Trump, Cain, Rudy, ghastly Grassley, Rand Paul, RonJohn, Kellyanne and Kayleigh— after their secret treatments and a healthy infusion of virgin’s blood ***
39 Days * Supremes tell Texas to take a hike Treasonous Ted Cruz crushed Lou Dobbs sobs All the King’s horseshit can’t put Trumpy Dumpy together again ***
38 Days * Another Saturday “Stop the Steal” rally in D.C. Even though SCOTUS shot down their last appeal Trump fans chant, “Destroy the G.O.P." Maskless Virginia Congressman calls COVID a hoax There’s no vaccine against stupid ***
37 Days * Electoral College meets to certify Biden’s victory Ordinarily routine, but today armed bodyguards Boogaloo thugs and Proud Boy goons aren’t the worst danger— The disdain of so many elected officials for the oath they swore to defend democracy Another test of the nation’s long endurance ***
36 Days * Trump barricades the White House Submachine-gun-totin’ Dennis Hopper rants from parapet of Mabel’s Taos redoubt Blue Velvet’s Frank's been running the country for four mad years Klansmen sing Kandy-Kolored-Klown with reggae beat King’s clown Giuliani collapses into paroxysms of laughter ***
35 Days * Putin sends dry congrats to Biden Moscow Mitch follows in his stead like a faithful spaniel Rudy’s uncharacteristically quiet Mar-a-Lago neighbors tell Trumps they’re unwelcome ***
34 Days * “It didn’t happen here” doesn’t mean it couldn’t 74 million Americans willingly embraced a despot narrowly thwarted by 81 million and a few honest judges But what about next time? ***
33 Days * Deb Haaland is Joe’s pick for Interior First Native American cabinet member First Indian to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National parks and wildernesses First to realize this land is not a “resource” to be exploited, but a sacred bond ***
32 Days * Congress argues down-to-the-wire about $600 stimulus and paltry pandemic relief It’s only been on the table since June If Scrooge had been that Scroogie Tiny Tim would have been dead by New Year’s ***
31 Days * A year ago, Adam Schiff asked how much damage Trump could do between then and the Election Now we know horrors no one could have fathomed And we ask the question “How much damage can he do in a month?” ***
The 30 Day Mark * Another ho-hum week in America Mike Flynn and Syd Powell meet with Trump to push a military coup COVID deaths average 3,000 a day Trumpie sheriffs refuse to enforce mask mandates Christmas bells are ringing ***
29 Days * More plotting, more suing, more losing Another maskless Mar-a-Lago gala Trump asks how he can get his name on an airport It helps to die first— Hurry up, Donald! ***
28 Days * Trump more like Captain Queeg by the day Too crazy even for Pat Robertson Thinks everyone’s out to get him, even Pence Et tu, Mitch? Can he even trust Ivanka? ***
27 Days * Pardons for crooks, war criminals, and co-conspirators Pardons galore for those who pay Ignore the dead Iraqi civilians Ignore all the victims of these criminals Russian probe? What Russian probe? ***
26 Days * Bob Mueller, poor clerk; Adam Schiff, likewise What have they to eat this Trumpmas but humble pie while pardoned felons rejoice? Ah, but the Ghost of Trumpmas Yet to Come has yet to cross the threshold ***
25 Days * Trump golfs and hate-tweets while unemployment aid lapses eviction protections lapse many go hungry at the holidays He knows he’s the real victim ***
24 Days * Joe Biden, remember him? Joe’s going to be President quite soon No, that’s not Fake News nor promised French hens Joe and Kamala will be running things in 24 days— Deal with it! ***
23 Days * Another day another attempt to ignore the Golfer-in-Chief What should this poem be about? How ‘bout pies? Pumpkin, apple, pecan Maybe four calling birds or the slaughtered Holy Innocents? ***
22 Days * Pence skis Vail on our dime Trump grudgingly signs relief bill after deadline so the unemployed must wait a week or two Melania demands five golden rings The ghost of Thomas à Becket haunts Mar-a-Lago ***
21 Days * Not Altman’s Nashville just another old white guy wanting to blow stuff up on his way out Six geese a-laying gelignite eggs Booby traps in every West Wing drawer ***
20 Days * Seven swans a-swimming Seventy viral variants swarming Vaccine boxes languishing on bureaucratic shelves Stimulus dangling on Mitch’s fork Waiting for a virtual ball to drop ***
19 Days Out (New Year’s Day) * Eight scams a-milking Seven lawyers billing Six more cronies pardoned Five transition teams obstructed And a bawling child in the White House ***
18 Days * Little Marco, Lazy Lindsey, and Joni Ernst (The Three Mask-Scoffeteers) cut in line to be first for the vaccine Fried Gohmert’s danced out of court The Amazing Mitch performs a prestidigitation ***
17 Days * Ten sycophants a-kneeling Nine lackeys a-dancing Trump declaring the Georgia run-offs “Invalid” Trumpie lawyer calling for Pence to be shot Lyin’ Ted Cruz joining the seditionists ***
16 Days * Sunday Surprise: Trump reprises Ukraine extortion as “perfect call” to Georgia Eleven vapers vaping couldn’t dream up this shit ***
15 Days * Twelve drummers drumming and eleven pipers piping couldn’t drill through your thick skull Here’s an Epiphany for you, Donnie Boy: You lost! ***
14 Days * One coup a-failing Two corrupt Senators a-losing Three Kings a-kneeling Four Freedoms ascendant Five stars align ***
13 Days * Yesterday’s astonishing Epiphany Not only did armed insurrectionists ransack the Capitol but Mike Pence thrice defied his master To 25th or not to 25th? That is the question for Mike and Mitch ***
12 Days * Not losing his religion just his Facebook account Still loves his Proud Boys and all the very fine people who crawled through Capitol windows ***
11 Days * Twitterless twit No longer king of all he surveys Just a teething tyke kicking his hi-chair They’ve taken away his toys Let’s hope they’ve also taken the suitcase ***
10 Days Out * “Ten Days of Darkness” the Neo-Nazis threaten So it may be a bumpy ride but we’ve survived four years of darkness and we persisted! ***
9 Days * Zip Tie Guy, Q Shaman and Bigo Barnett arrested Will Baked Alaska be next? Gotham City and the Capital appear safe for now But if this is the last 15 minutes of the flick we can expect The Joker to escape ***
8 Days * Impeach him again Make him a 2-time loser! Officially “Worst President ever” But it won’t bring back 400,000 dead nor help those infected by his maskless mob ***
7 Days in January (one week out) * Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Ford, Comcast, the Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street Journal, even Walmart turn on Trump Corporate America freezes out the Seditionists Mitch sniffs the air, casts no shadow ***
6 Days Out * 2nd Impeachment debate Kilroy noses flop over masks as Republicans blame Antifa and BLM or ask for “unity” and no-blame “forgiveness” What, me worry? ***
5 Days to Go * Trump in his jammies, neck in the noose Aides and appointees say “Been good to know you!” as they head out the White House door carrying paintings or boxes of personal effects Mover’s iPod plays Cash’s “25 Minutes to Go” ***
4 Days Out * The “MyPillow” guy meets with Trump to advise him on how to declare martial law That’s what I said—in the Oval Office Like, for real I’m going back to bed—Wake me on the 20th! ***
3 Days Out * 51 Capitols in lockdown Baked Alaska and Zip Tie Mom now in custody Rudy G visits the White House one last time Chef Andrés delivers hot meals to troops guarding Capitol It’s Sunday—Why aren’t those Christian Supremacists in church? ***
2 Days to Go * Pardons for sale! Appetizing pardons for sale! Who’s prepared to pay the price? Best take Uncle Rudy’s advice. Pardons for sale! ***
1 Day Left * All the lonely sycophants where will they all go to? All the grifting piggies left to simmer in their own stew But oh-so-bored Melania is happy to go ***
Inauguration Day (Jan. 20, 2021) * Bye bye Trump Bye bye Mitch Hello Joe and Kamala Hello sanity I think I’m going to cry! ***
1-21-21 (First full day of Biden-Harris administration) * Someone’s finally quieted the car alarm For this we are most thankful Much work to be done So great the damage But we’ll take a cup a kindness yet ***