Smooth as ICE, by Jennifer Lagier

“Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.”
—Joseph Goebbels

La Migra we call border patrol agents
who harass day laborers
as they queue up for jobs
outside our local Home Depot.
What was once a banal nature cliché
is now a potential death sentence.
Immigration officials carry out
cruel federal policy like good little Nazis.

Enraged, I carry a picket sign,
march and chant with
ACLU and MALDEF members,
parade along wire cages
where deportees are held
at the edge of Salinas.

School attendance drops.
Children are afraid of being separated
from mothers and fathers,
the only culture and community
they’ve ever known.

Hate-mongers scapegoat, demonize,
use faux news to rouse
their raving base, build support for
crimes against humanity,
deny the label of racist.

Two poems by Jennifer Lagier

Thoughts and Prayers

 “‘Really angry’ gunman who killed 3 at Gilroy Garlic Festival cut fence, shot randomly for less than a minute.” – USA Today

While I attend a Monterey poetry reading where
two Latino poets promote love and unity,
one more furious white man cuts through a fence,
with his automatic rifle, shoots down
fifteen festival attendees, killing three,
including a six-year-old boy,
thirteen-year old girl.

When will we, as a nation,
discontinue spewing useless aphorisms,
no longer facilitate poison
seeping into hearts and minds,
bind wounds, staunch hatred,
reject division, halt wanton bleeding?

When do we quit mouthing platitudes,
lance festering resentments,
drain away sickness, cauterize anger,
make America safe and sane again,
put rational adults
in charge of our healing?

Please, no more thoughts and prayers.
We need moral leadership, action.

..

What They Have Given Us

Conspiracy theories.
Gutted environmental protections.
Refusal to consider gun control
despite constituent pleas,
weekly mass murders.

Tariffs and trade wars.
Corruption, cruelty,
xenophobia, sex crimes.
Turning a blind eye
to more Russian hacking.

Nepotism, malfeasance.
Women and immigrant bashing.
Rising white supremacy.
Cavalier hate speech
dividing the nation.

Pay-offs to corporate funders.
Dismantling the social safety net.
Transforming ICE and the DOJ
into a third-world junta
composed of goon squads.

Appointment of the least competent
and most sadistic to positions of power.
Incentive for revolution.
Justification for impeachment,
indictments, violent upheaval.

..

Jennifer Lagier has published fifteen books, edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press), Camille Mobilizes (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming book: Trumped Up Election (Xi Draconis Books).  jlagier.net

Two poems by Jennifer Lagier

Mean

 

Migrant kids at the border are being denied soap, medical care, toothbrushes and blankets, but Melania is determined to better the lives of white kids throughout the country.  – Red Painter, Crooks and Liars

 

Taking a page from the Herman Goering playbook,
racist-in-chief promotes increased immigration sweeps,
mass detentions, family separations, infants and children
stuffed into private concentration camp cages
denied medical treatment, toothbrushes, blankets.

As contractors rake in the dough,
Fox & Fiends spin reality,
parrot conspiracy theory sound bites,
rationalize crimes against humanity, assert
“You can’t have a Hyatt on the border.”

While Individual 1 panders
to Neo-Nazi wet-dreams of sadistic power,
sick babies cower under tinfoil covers,
sleep on concrete, cry for their mothers.
Tone-deaf Melania dismisses cruelty,
announces a new illiterate slogan:
Be Best Ambassadors to Improve Lives of Children.

..

Full of Trash

“It’s like Barr summarized the ‘Twilight’ novels as ‘a girl in Florida goes to third base with a wookie’.” – John Oliver

We’re living in the upside-down universe.
It’s what you get when you cross corrupt with stupid,
add a soupcon of self-righteous smugness,
enlist the aid of Christian fundamentalist trolls.

A two year, multi-million-dollar investigation reveals
criminals saved from prosecution by incompetence
assisted by disobedience, disorganization.
Malfeasance gleefully French kisses cancerous evil.

Cheeto-in-chief’s fluffer issues a four-page fake summary,
visits various talking head “news” shows
to perform mandatory ass-kissing
in an attempt to distract rumbling voters.

Power-hungry repugs take a victory lap,
celebrate democracy’s dismantlement
as brain-washed sycophants chorus
“No collusion. Total exoneration.”

..

Jennifer Lagier has published sixteen books and in a variety of anthologies and literary magazines, taught with California Poets in the Schools, edits the Monterey Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Second Sunday readings. Recent publications: Harbinger Asylum, The Rockford Review, Syndic Literary Journal, From Everywhere A Little: A Migration Anthology, Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California, Missing Persons: Reflections on Dementia, Silent Screams: Poetic Journeys Through Addiction and Recovery. Newest books: Camille Mobilizes (FutureCycle Press) and Trumped Up Election (Xi Draconis Books). Website: jlagier.net Facebook:www.facebook.com/JenniferLagier/

Insanity, by Jennifer Lagier

To satisfy his
illiterate, raving base,
toddler-in-chief throws a tantrum,
demands billions of taxpayer dollars
to build an expensive,
ineffective border wall
along our southern boundary.

His snit translates
into two painful weeks
of a government shutdown
enabled by spineless repugs
who continue slurping
at the public trough,
expect their own paychecks.

Federal employees
suffer without compensation,
worry about mortgages,
utility bills, feeding their families.
National Parks overflow
with uncollected feces and garbage.

The stench of incompetence
emanates from
a dysfunctional administration
installed by Russia,
headed by a doddering simpleton
illegitimately occupying the White House.

Out of Choice, by Jennifer Lagier

“Republican comes in the dictionary just after reptile and just above repugnant.” – Julia Roberts

Margaret Atwood announces
she is creating a sequel
to The Handmaid’s Tale,
says under current conditions,
the text writes itself.

Daily, I grind my teeth
as the orange cretin
who squats in the White House
boasts of grabbing pussies,
how he’d love dating his daughter,
judges women leaders
solely on the basis of looks.

Within every branch of government,
smug old white men
suck at the public teat
while interfering with
a woman’s right
to control her own body.

Each outrageous last straw
gives way to fresh undermining,
emotional, physical assaults.
Indictment, incarceration
of corrupt administration criminals
can’t come soon enough.

Not Much Will, by Jennifer Lagier

“I know now traps are only set by me…” – Joan Baez

Today’s installment of dystopic stupid features
Twitter-in-Chief’s frantic, misspelled missives,
Michael Cohen’s 11^th hour plea deal,
Paul Manafort’s eight count conviction.

In California, a GOP representative
and his wife are indicted
for using campaign funds
on personal expenses.

Facebook and Microsoft
discover and deactivate
Russian and Iranian sites
spreading disinformation.

The rest of us watch rich white men
stumble and fall,
tripped up by their own
arrogant hubris.

Confirmation, by Jennifer Lagier

“He’s a man who doesn’t believe in your right to control your own body. A man who thinks you shouldn’t have access to health care, LGBTQ freedoms, or basic civil rights. A man accused of multiple acts of sexual violence.” — Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood

 

The act of confirming a self-entitled preppie
who is both liar and predator
to the highest court of the land
reaffirms what we already know:
federal government exists by and for
rich, obtuse white men who
serve only monied patrons
and their own greedy interests.

A third of the Supreme Justices
have been accused of sexual misconduct.
The message isn’t lost on women.
This is war, a relentless attack
on independence, safety, well-being.
Incandescent rage flares, boils over.
No more turning the other cheek,
ignoring harassment, discrimination.

We are fed up, fighting for our lives,
won’t tolerate one more
instance of being marginalized,
demonized, disrespected, molested.

.. 

Jennifer Lagier has published fourteen books, edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming: Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). jlagier.net

Schoolboy, by Jennifer Lagier

From infancy, he’s been protected,
pampered, adored.
Helicopter parents orbit closely,
make sure obstacles are removed,
bumpy path smoothed.

Despite his lack of effort or attention,
teachers know better than to assign
a failing grade, substandard scores.
Coaches have been put on notice
to make sure he is quarterback,
captain, most valuable player.
Reprimands are challenged, overturned.

High school drinking, sexual horseplay,
all accepted without question,
after all, boys will be boys.
He grows up, self-entitled,
filled with overblown expectations.

As an adult, the world is his oyster,
six figure salary, executive perks,
career advancement assured.
Mentors have his back,
make failures, indiscretions
magically disappear.

He seizes what he wants
without consequences.
A member of an exclusive brotherhood,
he won’t be denied,
grows bigger, bolder, destroys
whoever stands in his way.

Crazy, by Jennifer Lagier

Doubling down on cruel,
racist and stupid,
Klu-Klux-Klanner-in-Chief
bloviates via Twitter.
Calls for immediate deportations
of undocumented asylum seekers,
denying due process.

A clueless FLOTUS
negates her purported
compassionate field trip,
wins the Marie Antoinette tone-deaf award
by visiting child concentration camps
wearing a jacket bearing the slogan
I Really Don’t Care – Do U?

From coast to coast,
untethered authoritarianism
ignites growing bipartisan mutiny.
Awakened people of conscience
stand up, speak out,
refuse to accept one more extremist,
unconstitutional outrage.

..

Jennifer Lagier has published fourteen books, edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming: Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). jlagier.net

In the Dust, by Jennifer Lagier

As the Orange Dotard
and Little Rocket Man
posture for cameras,
a threatened world quivers.

Neither has any intention
of delivering more
than instant, superficial
media gratification.

Former allies are denigrated,
demonized, ridiculed
for principled diplomacy
mistaken for weakness.

A new world order
is formed by the antics
of two nuclear-armed
egomaniac toddlers.

 ..

Jennifer Lagier has published fourteen books, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming: Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). jlagier.net

Haters, by Jennifer Lagier

How soul-dead is
an administration that permits
persecution and murder
of people of color?

How morally bankrupt
is a nation that encourages
seizure and internment
of innocent children?

How poisonous
a political party that abets
repugnant crimes
committed by rabid haters?

How long before
the final inhumane straw
breaks our backs,
ignites overdue revolution?

Intelligence, by Jennifer Lagier

Flaccid Cheeto-in-Chief
suffers severe ADD,
short attention span
complicated by a
complete lack of ethics.

He bloviates lies,
self-aggrandizement,
scurrilous slanders,
delighting his
zombie supporters.

He tells them
he’s the smartest,
most savvy
businessman,
a tough negotiator.

Dictators cunningly
puff up his ego,
command favorable terms
for themselves,
handsomely profit.

NSA spies confess
they’ve known
since 2016 that
the bloated orange one
is a paid Russian agent.

New Complexities, by Jennifer Lagier

Melania has gone missing.
Snarky conjecture ponders
recovery from plastic surgery,
a beating by her husband’s goons,
insurmountable disgust and estrangement.

Rudy, the orange one’s lawyer,
announces his client
is immune to subpoenas
or prosecution for
obstruction of justice.

The internet buzzes
with conspiracy theories,
fresh cruelties
new lunatic tweets,
hateful, racist eruptions.

A complex cancer
of culture and soul
spreads poisonous roots,
saps decency, supplants integrity,
strangles our country.

..

Jennifer Lagier has published fourteen books, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming: Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). jlagier.net

Eulogy, by Jennifer Lagier

It’s been a year of loss, betrayal,
massive upheaval—cancerous mom
wasted to death, husband’s addiction,
extended family stressed, torn asunder.

For decades, I’ve hidden inside
a bubble-wrapped fantasy
of perfect parents, stable life,
tasteful home, successful career.

The past months have brutally
torn away every dreamy illusion,
ground my nose into the dirt
of terminal illness, fracturing marriage.

Now spring brings peace,
downsized expectations,
change of residence,
charming picket fence cottage.

Here’s the new foundation
upon which I will rebuild,
welcome serenity,
realistic existence.

Hang ‘Em High, by Jennifer Lagier

“When people show you who they are, believe them.” – Maya Angelou 

Conservative white male outrage
boils over at the thought of women
in control of their own minds,
bodies, potential.

An Atlantic columnist opines
that those who have abortions
are murderers, should be executed
by public hanging.

Misogyny burgeons
in a country that places
sexual predators
at the helm as leaders.

Sisters gather, organize
vow “No more!”
support female representatives
in record numbers.

 

Jennifer Lagier has published fourteen books, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press), Like a B Movie (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming: Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). Website: jlagier.net

National Security by Jennifer Lagier

“While one hand draws up plans for border walls, the other hands out AR-15s to white, male, homegrown terrorists.” –Susan Schneider

When a friend posts on Facebook
how we used to drive around
with loaded guns in our pickups,
I remind him we were farm kids
who packed shotguns or a .22
to take pot shots at beer bottles,
cans, sometimes a pheasant or rabbit.

We are breeding a generation
of unbalanced, violent white men.
Turn a blind eye to abuse.
Tolerate the massacre
of women and children.
Accept NRA bullshit,
spineless legislators,
escalating school shootings.

Show me where in the 2^nd Amendment
it confers an unfettered right
to military grade assault weapons,
unlimited ammo.
Insanity is the definition of
repeating the identical actions
over and over while expecting
a more positive outcome.

Stupid, by Jennifer Lagier

“Trump plays ventriloquist’s dummy for the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre.” – The Daily Kos

Orange Airbag-in-Chief shares his plan
to prevent more school massacres:
eliminate gun-free zones,
arm all the teachers.

He reads from NRA crib sheets,
ignores pleas from shooting survivors.
News reports reveal that an armed security guard
stood outside while kids were slaughtered.

Families of victims beg for an assault weapon ban,
longer waiting periods, tighter restrictions.
Politicians collect their twenty pieces of silver,
offer prayers, refuse to consider tough legislation.

Nomad by Jennifer Lagier

I wake among remote dunes
when cold beach sand
ices my bones,
beard sparkles with frost.
The adopted Australian Shepard
who contributes body heat,
barks at unwanted intruders,
stirs, stiffly rises, stretches,
expects to be fed.

I panhandle what I can from commuters
paused at the freeway exit stop sign.
Score enough to purchase Red Bull,
dry kibble at the 7-11, then meander
to the wetlands gathering spot
where fellow homeless men,
shaken from coastal thickets by sunrise
congregate beneath a fallen willow.

We hoist a torn red tee shirt,
claim this bruised territory
our brief sanctuary
where we’ll bullshit, pass the bottle,
eventually pass out in the afternoon sun.

Ellis Island Reversal by Jennifer Lagier

Lady Liberty has been laid off,
torch extinguished,
welcome plaque censored,
toll booth installed.

Immigration has been demonized,
myth of terrorists overrunning borders
propagated by white supremacists,
spread by Faux News.

We’ve forgotten our foreign grandparents,
herded through cattle chutes, taken ashore.
Their stooped backs, straining shoulders
pushed the nation’s economy, democracy’s cogs.

Now hate-inflamed extremists
drape themselves in Confederate flags,
march through America’s corrupted heartland,
wave flaming torches, blood dripping clubs.

..

Jennifer Lagier has published thirteen books, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press). Forthcoming publications: Like a B Movie (Feb. 2018) and Camille Mobilizes (Dec. 2018), (FutureCycle Press, 2018). Website: jlagier.net

Tiny Agonies by Jennifer Lagier

Camille sips hot coffee,
scrolls through Internet headlines:
Porn Star Says Trump Bad in Bed;
Nuclear War, Extreme Weather
Top List of 2018 Threats;
Marathon Running Mom, 10-Year-Old
Boy Latest Flu Victims;
China space station packed with
‘CANCEROUS chemicals’
to crash into Earth ‘within MONTHS’.

She is fed up starting every morning
with elevated blood pressure, wanting
to vaporize Washington DC,
exterminate White House residents,
migrate to a remote forest
or desert island
to escape rampant stupidity.
There aren’t enough bong hits
to erase oppressive, offensive reality.

Instead, she drags out magic marker,
a huge sheet of poster board,
creates a protest sign
with scathing message, pointed graphics.
She’ll share her anger and energy
with vibrant, vocal, voting females.
at the local Women’s March,
Together, they will oust inept,
sexist clowns currently in power,
bring back intelligent, humane behavior,
take over all levels of government,
make the world sane.