Our Country Needs by Savannah Sipple
The poem "Our Country Needs" is redacted from the Wall Street Journal article "Donald Trump Transcript: 'Our Country Needs a Truly Great Leader'" which contained the transcript from Trump's announcement of a 2016 Presidential run. The poem examines double-speak and the weight of language.
~Savannah Sipple
.............................................................. Our Country Needs .................................................
..................................... a ............................. wall ....................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................... they went in. .........................................................
............ They sweated like dogs. ................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They didn't know the room was too big. they didn't have anybody there. .......
they .............................................................................................................................................
............................................. saw us beating They kill us ..
All the time. .................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They send their cars over .........................................................................................................
............................................................................................. They beat us ..................................
They're laughing at us .........................
they are beating us They are not our friend .............................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
rapists I assume, are good people. ...................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They've become rich. ..............................................................................................................
................................................................... They don't have to pay interest ..............................
.................................................................................................... they're great ..........................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They all have jobs. ...................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They don't know if it worked. .................................................................................................
........................................................................... They don't know what they're doing .............
.....................................................................................................................................................
................They will not ..................... believe me .......................................................................
they say the sun will rise ........................
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
.................... They had a plan that was good. They have no plan now. ......................................
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
......... they control them .............................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
................................................... they'll love it ...........................................................................
........................................................they'll be .............................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................ a no good traitor ........................................
............................................................................................................. a political hack .............
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................... they got away with it again .............................................................
......................................................................................................................................................
I love them. ............................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
They're so stupid. .............................................................................................................
.......................................................................... it's a good thing ........................................
............................................................................................................. I'm really rich ...............
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
They're gone. ...................................................................................................................
They don't have a clue. ...................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
they all said, ...........................................................................................................................
........................... nobody's ever going to know ........................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
......Mark my words.
Savannah Sipple is a writer from eastern Kentucky. Her essay "Like it Never Happened..." was published on Quaint Magazine's blog and was featured as one of 2015's Transformative Literary Essays by Sundress Publications. Savannah's poems and short stories have recently been published in Appalachian Heritage, The Pikeville Review, Southern Indiana Review, Still: The Journal, and in the anthology Appalachia Now: Short Stories of Contemporary Appalachia. She is also a writer and co-creator at Structure and Style.
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