I wanted to get a dancer for this post but it wasn't possible, given the time constraints and the money they wanted. So I had to go with what I had. My sincere apologies to Jules Feiffer for tampering with his vision, and to all the poets who have come before me at this time of year. I'll try using a real dancer next time.
A Dance to Spring
In this dance
flowers bloom
giant locusts bloom
Hope blooms
All things are possible!
In this dance
Tea Party members bloom
gathering their spit
gathering their spit
taking aim at John Lewis and calling him the "n" word
A time warp to be sure,
but our man has known enough hate to last a lifetime
Just look at him here at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Did he back down then?
Sorry folks you don't win.
Your ruse won't dampen his resolve one iota
To pass the Health Care Bill
All things are possible!
In this dance
Tea Partiers call Barney Frank a faggot
They can't say gay, as in, Oh Happy Day!
No, these people aren't happy in any way.
They're angry angry angry, a million times angry
about the Health Care Bill
The response from GOP leaders is weak
These events are isolated, Boehner says,
followed by Chairman Steele,
They're just stupid, is all he'll admit.
Perhaps they think
name calling is an allergic reaction to spring
and all we need is an Allegra
Well, all things are possible!
In this dance
Angry people can't get over the fact
That their President is black!
They're still in shock, wondering,
What the hell was the country thinking?
Citizens must have been hypnotized
by the Jews and the Clintons,
so they're back on the streets
eager to be heard
to stop the Socialist takeover of America!
Has anything changed?
Are we back where we started?
Is Lewis right, a time warp?
No, calm down, we're not back there yet,
Even the die-hards have changed in 60 years
Last night the bill passed
Hallelujah!
And tomorrow...
We put our kids—under 27—back into our health plans.
All things are possible!
They can't say gay, as in, Oh Happy Day!
No, these people aren't happy in any way.
They're angry angry angry, a million times angry
about the Health Care Bill
The response from GOP leaders is weak
These events are isolated, Boehner says,
followed by Chairman Steele,
They're just stupid, is all he'll admit.
Perhaps they think
name calling is an allergic reaction to spring
and all we need is an Allegra
Well, all things are possible!
In this dance
Angry people can't get over the fact
That their President is black!
They're still in shock, wondering,
What the hell was the country thinking?
Citizens must have been hypnotized
by the Jews and the Clintons,
so they're back on the streets
eager to be heard
to stop the Socialist takeover of America!
Has anything changed?
Are we back where we started?
Is Lewis right, a time warp?
No, calm down, we're not back there yet,
Even the die-hards have changed in 60 years
Last night the bill passed
Hallelujah!
And tomorrow...
We put our kids—under 27—back into our health plans.
All things are possible!
~~~~
Here's the original cartoon by Feiffer, drawn in 1957, seemingly inspired by the same concerns we have today. I tried to reconfigure the eight poses of the dancers onto this tiny mannequin, although some worked better than others. So, thank you, Mr. Feiffer, and you're right—spring does make me silly.
Charlotte, this is GREAT. The mannequin is brilliant. Yes, yes, yes to spring and to hope. Sad that something as basic as health care can make people so angry and vicious. But it passed. Yes, it did.
ReplyDeleteYes, here's to spring and hope. Thank you for this! When Jules Feiffer came to the library so many years ago, i danced a danced to spring for him on our stage. It was thrilling and silly.
ReplyDelete