#23: inauguration poem for joe biden

Dear Readers,

This is a special edition of The Boredom & the Horror & the Glory: a poem*!

Sincerely,
Lucy

*this poem comes to you courtesy of Brian, who had to hack Substack to preserve my
stanza breaks. What more could someone ask for in a husband?

INAUGURATION POEM FOR JOE BIDEN

Don't be afraid of power
It sounds like a bang
They bravely raised their children
The little girl sang
Watching wars through a keyhole
Until the war the world is came home

They bravely raised their children
But underneath the word raise
Was each infected second going by
By the time this is over
Over will mean something new

And 500,000 people
What kind of poem
Would you
Make out of that
Make out of that
What kind of poem

The government died
His children died
And the State welcomed this
He stayed in the basement with his dogs
They say he had Zoom meetings daily

Summer reached its fingers into fall
Fall reached into winter
Late very late
Into winter
Early snow
Then a warm Thanksgiving
But all this has happened before

They stayed inside and stayed inside and died
They didn’t get the right country at the right time

It comes in and out of focus
I made a list of countries to move to
I thought I was going to have to use it
He came over on a boat
Those aren’t just words
He really came over on a boat
In the middle of their lives
In a different language
To come over on a boat
If I have to use it
I’ll die to myself
But all this has happened before

This part of the world
The one with the wide streets and AC
I’m the president
Sitting in a restaurant-bar in 2017 bragging about it
It’s not a matter of worth it
So much as what I feel is mine

They say he is clear of mind
They say he’s willing to listen
They say he’s fine

They left thoughts on the ground
To pick up in a more stable era

This is the United States of America
Such as she was
Such as she would become
Such as she has become
And I—
Such as I will become