What agonizing irony it is,
That the person Joe allowed to be confirmed
Those decades ago, is now poised to help dismantle
All that we hold sacred.
Barely qualified, as his colleagues-in-law judged,
Unlike the ‘well-qualified’ designation applied to
The vast majority who occupy a position so lofty,
So untouchable, that it’s forever.
Behavior so contrary to the norms of the Court,
Complete silence for a decade while matters of
Life and death were pleaded at his feet,
The shadow of Anita always present, as everyone knew.
Joe was in his prime, his forty’s, already Judiciary Chair,
As we watched, glued, to the hearings, those wretched days
Where she bared her soul, for us. That Joe apologized to her
Many years later offers no comfort, no place to land.
It was agony then, and is again, now coupled with such irony
There’s nothing to compare it to, other than understanding
Life only truly begins when we have something we’re willing
To die for.
And now there’s another show, every bit as agonizing,
As we listen to emissaries scrape and twist and mock the craft
They swore to uphold, on behalf of a despicable man,
An embarrassment to the nation and humankind.
How, we ask. Because now is a time defined by grievance?
Some invisible force that insists we allow, even welcome, the nation
To wallow in ire? That anger reflects a pessimism those before us
Didn’t feel, or perhaps ever feel?
If the Thomas’s of the world prevail, it will not be him or his ilk
Who must be blamed for breaking us. If that occurs, it will prove
We were already broken.