Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Last R-E-S-P-E-C-T-s and Half-(m)ast Efforts


The recent deaths of two notable Americans has the Savant thinking about their legacies in these divisive times and the sharp contrast of their lives with that of the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. One of these celebrated individuals performed much of the soundtrack of the Savant’s youth and had a significant effect on the advances of the 60’s civil rights movement. The other, a Viet Nam war hero and Republican Senator, had views widely divergent from the Savant but a basic integrity and patriotism that one can admire. Both were esteemed in their fields and remarkable for the desire and the ability to bring people of differing views together for a greater purpose. It is that loss that Limerick laments the most. Here then are two elegies on what that loss "means to me" and what seems to be missing from the White House this week and probably in general.


















Aretha, you taught us to see
What a beautiful world this might be
When we sing with one voice
And make the right choice.
And that spells RESPECT to a “T.”

His dis of McCain, now complete,
On the patriots end;
But he’ll ne’er comprehend
How a hero can conquer defeat.