Did he say to qualify as smart
you just have to buy your own TV
show, your own hotel, your own
beauty pageant,
and your own country?
Did he say we’ll be protected
from undesirable outcomes by
higher walls, bigger buttons,
richer rich people,
and standing anthems?
Did he say he hired a stable
of geniuses? I picture a row
of Mister Eds, lips trembling,
teeth bared,
the sync slightly off,
so don’t put on your spectacles
if you wanna believe it’s all true.
Charissa Menefee is a poet, playwright, and director. She recently published a chapbook, When I Stopped Counting (Finishing Line Press), and her poems have been published or are forthcoming in Poetry South, The Indian River Review, Adanna, Terrene, Amygdala, The Paddock Review, and Telepoem Booths. She is on the faculty of the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment at Iowa State University.
