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yo trumpy
get the Jewish State
to chill on the genocide
antisemitism will recede
back to your base
where it belongs
it’s not a fair world
nor a rational one
an unpleasant
though obvious
fact
even as it gentrifies—
all those boxy condos—
Pittsburgh will never turn
hipster chic (Williamsburg)
just pleasantly dorky
that’s cool, in its way
the trouble is
folks who are doing alright
mostly worked hard
made good choices
and feel like they deserve what they have
but it's not a level playing field
for those who fall between the cracks
the path forward is donald trump
and adventures with fentanyl
you gotta work overtime
being me
that’s why they call it work
the Fourth *****'s method
of "cutting waste"
is like curing cancer
by shooting the patient

but it's really not
about cutting waste at all
it's about shooting the patient
i make noise on the piano
can't really claim to play it
this morning i grappled with sheet music
simplified to kindergarten level
trying to get a handle on Handel's Bouree
a hapless hour happily spent
in the afternoon i visited the symphony
to hear a dude play Mozart's Piano Concerto #22
i came home, opened a beer
and went back to mangling Handel
now if for some reason
the pianist from the symphony
found himself in my basement
and observed me butchering Handel
i imagine his reaction
would be sympathy and encouragement
"he's really giving it a good try," he might say
"for a mentally challenged person"
but if someone told him
no, he's normal, he plays in public
and occasionally gets paid
our virtuoso would be be disoriented
rattled, drowning in mindblown disbelief
"no, this is not a world where that can happen"
then the horror would set in
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