Doug Lane

First he came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out, or spoke too quietly-
Because I was not an immigrant.
Then he came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out, or at least, did not speak loudly enough—
Because I was not a Muslim.
...

You seduced me
with trickery
and afterwards
memories of our encounter
...

Driven from my house
by greedy landlords
who think
it's theirs,
...

American foster mother
you brought your bottomless,
unconditional,
love
...

Was listening
to an old Trumplican bag
in Florida
being interviewed.
...

On the 2nd day
of the televised RNC
one of his toadies,
Larry Toadwell,
...

You ain't so tough
Nicky Santoro.
Listen to you whine
while they bash
...

It's so much easier
to write
outside that community
I was forced
...

Off a boat
from Cuba
steps an African slave
who will conquer two continents,
...

It had always been taken for granted
and seemed it would always be there
so its extinction wasn't noticed
for some time.
...

At the same time
Shakespeare's sister,
Shakespeare's brilliant,
...

Teaching, as you all know,
is the kind of communion
in which you,
the host,
...

I and my fellow parishioners
worship Great God Mammon.
We one by one step forward
far from the African famine.
...

What has happened
to KKKenosha, Wisconsin?
When did it move
to Alabama?
...

I sit here trying to remember
the dream of America,
the dream of our forefathers,
and all I see is you,
...

I have a rendezvous with destiny.
She is the goddess who entices me.
I see her beckoning with open arms.
She promises I will not come to harm.
...

'Bet my money on the bobtailed nag, everybody bet on the bay.' -Steven Foster, 'Camptown Races'

Like a Cubs fan
I'm perpetually rooting
...

in the city
of poets
all men
are equals
...

I've just realized
that all these years
I've filed Mary Jo Kopechne
and Karen Anne Quinlan
...

Pop's dead,
and took his secrets
with him,
and honestly,
...