An American Tragedy: Reflections on the Election

by Elizabeth Boyd Miller

Empires may rise and they may fall

like the spinning of fortune’s wheel

we played a towering house of cards

now we’re trumped by greed and power.

 

Your victory sealed our fate, a margin call

claiming your prize, rebranding the “Art of the Deal”

into “Make America Great Again,” this bard

tells of relations gone south and tasting sour.

 

Loud did you scream of fear and hate,

inciting rampant crowds, the chaos ensues,

just wait and see, the populace is blinded

by your slogans and your perfect agenda

 

Common decency has diminished as of late.

sending shockwaves around the world, he secures

his place in history books of this our divided

nation. Let us, the people, request a referendum.

 

There’s no need, we must humbly give you a chance;

maybe we gambled away our rights and our freedoms,

maybe we lost sight of our morality in the process

Maybe, there is no need for us, the people, to fret.

 

What will life be like a year from now? We cannot glance

into the future. A foolhardy man we elected for no reason.

What will life be like in three years? We’ll expect no less

when our democracy stands in peril by our president-elect.

 

Let us not be the pawns in our nation’s game of chess.

Each maneuver, each protest, let us not cry “Child’s play”

Let us instead power through our numerous frustrations

and rise above the machinations of late, this travesty.

 

Come Hell or high water, come a disastrous mess

We must live with our choice and fight another day

For the betterment of community, of our great nation

Is this a Shakespearean comedy or an American tragedy?

 

Created: November 8, 2016

Age: 27

State: Massachusetts

 

Elizabeth, originally from Miami, Fl, grew up in the small city of Asheville, North Carolina. She has studied history and environmental studies and is currently studying to become a contracts specialist or paralegal. She now lives outside of Boston, MA. Her main hobbies include reading and writing.