Recess
“With its August recess imminent and midterm elections following soon after, it’s regularly assumed that Congress is done for the year. And, therefore, the 113th Congress, barring a legislative miracle, will soon officially be the least productive ever.” The Washington Post, July 9, 2014
It’s time to raise a cheer
for this nation over here
which has suffered from recession and inflation,
threats of terror, acts of war,
strange judicial twists of law
and a lack of practical imagination.
“What’s to cheer about,” you wonder,
“when it’s blunder after blunder,
not a reason for applause or jubilation?”
Well, I’m here to flatly state
that the outlook now is great,
for our congressmen are going on vacation.
Yes, our congressmen are going on vacation.
We will see them leave without commiseration.
They can’t flatter or berate us
when they’re on their long hiatus,
having pizza, poi, and other delectation.
For at least a little while,
across the legislative aisle
there will be no spite and no recrimination.
No talk of gaffes or gains
while a peaceful silence reigns
and no interests clamor for participation.
Now those congressmen, at leisure,
need not simulate a seizure
when they hear the woeful facts of immigration.
They can wait till they come back
to contemplate Iraq,
which requires immediate consideration.
Vacation, vacation, they are going on vacation.
Throw caps in air and join the celebration.
For a month we’ll see no muster
for another filibuster
or endure the drone of solemn obfuscation.
Conrad Geller, an old poet, is a Bostonian now living in Northern Virginia. His work has appeared widely, both electronically and in print.