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“Reflections”

not American flag blue 
but blossoming algae
bright green while blue liner
flakes in summer sun

polyurea floats within 
swaying like rubber eels 
sick and slick amid 
clouds of green opacity

these waters should unite
the nation’s monuments beneath
our sixteenth President’s
unrelenting gaze

A no-bid rush job for history’s sake
to celebrate our nation’s 2-5-0
no environmental consideration
just a superficial fix:
     As long as it looks good,
     who cares what lies beneath?

What does our great leader have to say?

The man who fast-tracked a process  
     needing time to cure
aims his ire not at those he hired
but those he claims conspired 
     just to see him fail. 

Beneath where all can see, 
willful damage has been done, 
long razored wounds along
with metal fence parts found. 

Perhaps this time he’s right.
Maybe facts support his case.
Then why do we find his words
oh so hard to believe?

Does he ask himself why
their meaning has been lost… 
the cost of arrogance
or simple sabotage?

All the nation sees 
within this murky pool? 
     —a man who sees all faults 
      but his own

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* inspired by the Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC and its recent renovation and suspected vandalism .

*after subsequent treatment, the pool seems to be slowly recovering as the water’s color is debated among visitors .