In imitation of C. P. Cavafy’s “The God Abandons Anthony” (1911)
When suddenly you hear
the clang of the psephological tocsin,
sounding too loud to be dismissed,
and choruses demanding your departure,
don’t bitch at Fortune
deserting you, your pissant works
and illusory projects.
Make America pay for dumping you—
grab the bitch down there, where it hurts!
Don’t say you were cheated,
or that it was all really just a dream.
Disdain such cheap cop-outs.
Sidle up boldly once more to the lectern
like one who has been expecting it.
You owe it to yourself, having gas-lit
this great country so mercilessly.
Puff-eyed, but not giving in to the boohoos,
like lesser men, get a final kick out of your fucked-up destiny.
Tell them what you really think of them!
Screw America cutting you loose!