Bill Kuhns
kuhns.bill@gmail.com
What was once America is remembered by all
Despite no one with an inkling why it had to fall
It collapsed in the stages of cracks spreading through a fine glass dome
Its devastation, they say, a mirror to the ruin that once consumed Rome
That string of fascists who tried to hold America together–
Was it them, or some distemper in the nation’s psychic weather?
The shooting bouts so long predicted never came to be
Americans fought Americans with info-treachery
Came that long stalemated period, what some called civil war
States succumbing to resentments and contentments, as oceans found their shore
In time fifty young nation states got rebranded to appeal
Until a beaming young face shone from every new state seal
Vegas was one-upped by WeCanSin
Couples were wooed by Kississippi and HitchAgain
Mosques flourished in Kentuckistan
So did lotteries in TakesUs and the Dollarinas and Fairyland
Qualibornia and Gohio pitched themselves as fountains of wealth
Much as Musclechusetts and Wellaska shone as beacons of health
Come anytime – come early or come late
You’ll find yourself in your most perfect state
Learn what enlightened splintering can do
Discover an exponentially expanded you,
Come one – come those who want it all
Hustle on over to the Continental Mall
How hard they worked to prime a broken pump!
An exercise like painting orchids on a dump
What a scammy salesman had once, originally wrought
The wreckage of a once great nation sought
Why had it gone so wrong? A throng of hustlers wondered
Not knowing that when winnings are all, the very soul is plundered
And the cities? Those endured. Never again did any thrive
The smart ones who moved out were grateful to get out alive
Among rebranded states, no longer do you hear America’s name
It’s not forgotten – it’s the tidal scum forever seeping from a sea of shame
Once the grandeur of America bound it to the golden age of Greece and Rome
Today its remnants are no place for any soul aflame with aspiration to call home
