Sweethearts of the GOP
the Trump children are admired
for their looks, speaking chops
and business success
but they are just privileged rich kids,
the kind I went to school among,
like the cellist whose parents
often hosted our Latin teacher
that spring before the Latin Regents
exam and I watched her coach
the slow but rich boy during the test
enough so he passed…barely.
Rich kids turn sour and nasty
when they fail to get their way.
Like Tom Buchanan, they take refuge
in their wealth, and their
money breeds contempt
for those less fortunate.
Rich kids get mean and scared
when their malice and hypocrisy
are exposed, like Don Jr. roasting
in the limelight of revelation
about his Russian connections;
lying for Dad’s sake, does he recall
the day Don Sr. picked him up
at school and he proudly wore
his Yankees uniform, but Dad
smacked him in the face, flooring him,
and yelled at him to get dressed in coat
and tie and meet him at the car.
How far we’ve come from the Pilgrims’
belief that those who acquired
wealth were saved by God’s
grace but needed to live and work
righteously, as though they deserved it.
But that was another time, another country.