Portside

Deux ex Machina

By Sandra Anfang

Chuck and Nancy

came in good faith

as if they could reason

with the demagogue

the would-be hierophant

the narcissist on his golden tweet commode.

They came in good faith

doing what in any normal time

would be business as usual

but the Democrats mocked them

and turned their faces

and the Republicans quaked in their patent-leather loafers.

The emperor wined and dined them

on Chinese takeout (for diversity)

and flashed his new silk suit

the "made in China" label mugging from his tie;

they kept their cool

and shook their heads in quick assent.

Chuck and Nancy

came in good faith

to meet with the hierophant

and cut a deal

on the golden throne

for the Dreamers' sake.

They played it cool--

it was business as usual--

but when they took a closer look

they noticed

the emperor

had no clothes.

Sandra Anfang is a poet and visual artist who lives in northern California.

Her poems have been published in numerous journals, including Spillway and Rattle. Her chapbook, Looking Glass Heart, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2016. A second chapbook, Road Worrier: Poems of the Inner and Outer Landscape, is forthcoming from the same publisher. Sandra is a California Poet/Teacher in the Schools and hosts a monthly poetry reading in Petaluma (Sonoma County).

www.facebook.com/RivertownPoetsAMuseingMondays