Being in the hot seat
Is second nature to me
I’ve always thought it neat,
Being in the hot seat
‘Tis not always so sweet
Expressing opinion, you see,
Being in the hot seat
Is second nature to me.
Written August 14, 2022
[I wrote Opinion for the
Huntington, WV Dispatch
for about eight years!]
You are gagged and bound, seated
In a hot seat among the hard of hearing
Harrowing tales from the trenches
At the deep end of a ravenous beast
A narrowing outlook, hope fading
Shape shifting fiends on the cliffs of sleep
Captured drifts shaping up to squeeze
Harassed by the wail of the haunt
You cry within reach of eardrums
Albeit all wearing earplugs
Wallowing, itching skin turning sallow
You are reminded of the sordid detail
The devil in it too hard to swallow
You reckon it's the lunch in your throat
That crouching shifting restless toad
You are not alone but on your own
Roasting in the heat of your moaning
Voice within a crowd of voices making noises
Choir of soloists, yet never about choices
You were placed where you were placed
In a furnace of dreams from dusk till dawn
Never warned that you were in for the duration
Trump and His Hot Seat
Trump has a hot seat that is a scorcher
Many times people has tried to torture
With remarks he made which would cut
Simply can't keep his big mouth shut.
Several times with eyes we have read
What with Twitter account Trump said
Replacing our elaborate hopes with fears
Are sure to tell when you see our tears.
Trump has head that we call a knuckle
While he was doing the huckle buckle
All of the issues continuing to avoid
Making us frightened and also annoyed.
God has granted everyone a warning
You must be prepared for Friday morning
A President who we want to be humble
As usual with his words is sure to stumble.
Between Trump's ears was found big gap
And in office must pay piper for each rap
Regarding all the foolish things he has done
Like giving his business to handsome son.
James Thesarious Hilarious Horn
Retired Veteran and Poet
As newlyweds we moved to Houston, where the traffic was insane.
I was finishing college there, and it made the commute a royal pain.
My husband told me emphatically to never park out in the road,
But one week he was out of town, and I figured he wouldn’t know.
I went next door to visit a friend, then suddenly we heard a loud bang.
It was gunfire, and shots that had ominously rang.
We looked out the window and it was utter chaos.
My van was being used as a shield, and the cops were in a face-off.
My heart was pounding as I thought of my poor van in the street,
Knowing when my husband found out, I would be in the proverbial hot seat.
Luck was on my side, and my van escaped without a scratch,
But it made the nightly news about the perilous shooting match.
I decided since there was no damage, I would just keep quiet.
About six months later I told my husband and broke my duplicitous silence.
He said, “I told you so,” and lectured me on where to park.
I vowed not to park there again, silently wishing I had left him in the dark.
Perched on my hot seat this morning,
I thought about this crazy world’s ills -
wars, hunger and global warming.
The more I pondered over them
the darker the prognosis became,
so I simply sighed, shrugged, then
pushed a knob and out went life’s burdens.