in dozens of cities nationwide
protesting a forty million dollar largesse 
and the need for one man to be above it all.

This isn’t the U.S. I grew up in,
where compromise was expected
at the end of day.

The fracture of ideals between 
mindsets, a stark divide
between haves and have nots.

The city streets crack under
the weight of tanks rolling past
the dictator-in-training.