Victor Henry

THE GREAT DIVIDE

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” —Benito Mussolini


In Trump’s America
You’re left to die
At your own expense.

The Donald doesn’t pay
Funeral fees.
He governs through arrogance

And ignorance.
His true believers
Duped, conned, gaslit.

Reality TV cartoon characters,
Devotees of The Art of the Deal,
Discover they’ve been funding his weekly golf trips,

Paid for his children’s business excursions.
Remain mute, expressionless, pallid
Like lifeless faces on precoated milk cartons.


Victor's YouTube reading of "The Great Divide"


Victor confesses: "This poem was inspired by The Washington Post fact-checking Trump’s false or misleading claims, totaling 30,573 in his first four years in office. Add Project 2025 to this mixture in his second term and he makes lying palatable once again to his supporters who are under informed about the ramifications of his fascistic, authoritarian takeover of the government."

VICTOR HENRY is a retired reference librarian, a Vietnam veteran, a member of Veterans for Peace. His book of antiwar poems What They Wanted was published by Future Cycle Press. His poetry and prose poems have been published in anthologies and e-zines, such as I am not a Silent Poet; Vietnam War Poetry; Monterey Poetry Review, etc.