Monday, September 2, 2013

Martha Deed


Bubble Outside Washington

[O]ne of the reasons I love these bus tours, you know, you meet folks like this all across the country 
every single day they are doing incredible stuff. . . .  [S]ometimes I think in Washington you lose sight
of what exactly makes this country so great. It's not all the stuff that gets a lot of attention. It's that day
to day courage, kindness, empathy, that really makes a difference.

          − President Obama talking with Chris Cuomo, CNN, August 22, 2013

black bus
with tinted glass
traverses empty streets
to reach the vetted audience
guards frisked

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Flyover

[O]ne of the reasons I love these bus tours, you know, you meet folks like this all across the country
every single day they are doing incredible stuff. . . .  [S]ometimes I think in Washington you lose sight
of what exactly makes this country so great. It's not all the stuff that gets a lot of attention. It's that day
to day courage, kindness, empathy, that really makes a difference.

          – President Obama talking with Chris Cuomo, CNN, August 22, 2013

Obama is here
to speak on education
at a gym
3 miles from here
where I last went
to see Tarheels
stomp on Bulls
I had fun that day
And the pundits
all say
how nice it is
a sitting President
here for the first time
since 1853 – 
Millard Fillmore
who didn't fly in for a visit
he was born here –
and no one
mentions
McKinley
who died here
of bad wound care
after he was shot
in 1901
will he fly in
over my yard
or will he
approach from the grave
of Flight 3407 in Clarence
Depends on which way
the wind blows
but just in case
the gulls and terns and hawks
and sparrows and finches
will be cleared from the skies –
feathered drones, the Hawks
especially
just in case
will he look out at Buffalo
from the sky – will he consider
the plight of children forced
to attend failed schools
the graduation rate
below 30%
the State stepping in
ordering the School Superintendent
to Albany
to make a plan
to save those kids
from a lifetime of failure
after she
has failed
them?
But No
for the second time in two months
the School Superintendent
has refused
to go
when asked
She was
“away from the District”
the first time
(when the graduation rates came in)
and this time
she says
she cannot make a meeting
because she wants to meet the President
and shake his hand
it's a special day
in her life
and she isn't certain
it will happen
(the handshake)
but she wants
to have this chance
the reckoning is on her clock
not theirs
a handshake
does not fix her schools
does not mend the lives
of 2200 children who
want to leave those
high schools
where fewer than a third
will graduate
or ever have a decent job
and the education talk at UB
will not make loans any easier to bear
and flying into Buffalo over
the grave of 3407
will that move the FAA
to institute more quickly
the new regulations
the 3407 family members
have won
and for that matter
will riding a bus
with tinted windows
past the green hills and fields
of New York State
shed light on fracking
which could be
about to happen here
I know the President loves basketball
and so I am happy for him
that he will give his speech on the hallowed
ground of college basketball
so soon after we achieved
Division 1 status
I think he will have a good time here
with his black bus
and empty streets
I think he will be spared blight
poor medical care
a bad education
Obama has big plans today
I hope
The School Superintendent
has big hopes today
Obama's plans are for the country
Hers are for herself
and My Plan is perhaps
the only one
with certain success
today for it is market day
in North Tonawanda
and I am going to buy
corn and other
harvest-ready fruits
and veggies
grown locally
and maybe I'll buy another
head of garlic from the farmer
who turned 100 on Saturday
and got a visit from the Mayor
on his birthday at the market
of course
I will watch the skies
for Air Force One
but I will not send email
or talk on the phone
about any plane I see
because of the NSA
I'll have fun today.

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