by Joe Andriano
Tweets and jibes don't speak the truth.
I taste his words, then spit them out
Like bitter pills or mushy fruit.
Of presidents the most uncouth.
Yet half believe the lying lout,
His rants and jabs they take as truth,
A golden fleece his gilded cloth.
They think he's for the down and out,
Ingest his pills, digest his fruit.
His light repels this mutant moth.
In my town I'm odd one out:
I call lies what they call truth.
His land, my land--can it be both?
If our land is his now, we want out.
But refuse to leave, spit out his fruit--
No seed left to break your tooth.
His big-league deals, deal me out!
Tweeted bullshit is not truth;
What grows from it--is rotten fruit.
Joe Andriano, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, is the author of two scholarly books (Our Ladies of Darkness and Immortal Monster) and many articles on the Fantastic in literature and media. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary magazines, including The Chattahoochee Review, Louisiana Literature, Argonaut, The Southwestern Review, Louisiana Review, The Emergency Almanac, and Wild Violet. His yet-unpublished novel, The Circe Spell, was long-listed in one contest and, more recently, short-listed in another. He is hopeful that this indicates some progress.