Uncle Sam's Sucking Yoke - A Poem
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UNCLE SAM'S SUCKING YOKE....
Why can’t I have a merry maid,
perhaps employ an aspiring cook?
How ‘bout an amusing driver
To see me to and fro from work!
Just how did 50’s drama queens
come to hire so many helpers?
Freed from all those daily chores,
even seein’ to the family supper!
Please explain to me why these perks
have long been forgotten and forsook.
The once swollen, milky teet of America . . .
Uncle Sam’s now the favored, needy suck.
I drain my cup of lukewarm water,
wipe grimy sweat from my swollen head,
and pull hard the crank like a champ,
push on through the tall grass ahead.
My mind harks back to days gone by
when I was but a willful child,
My Dad, he taught me how to choke
a carb’rator that spit, sputtered, died.
The nice old ladies on my block
would let no one else careful mow,
and scrumptious tea cakes with a side of milk,
my grandly simple reward don’t you know!
Yet here I push my mower now,
and push myself against the tired,
and wonder just what’s gone awry
that it’s now too costly to have it hired?
Americans now feed the Fed
all that it desires and demands!
Why play the maid, why be the cook?
When Uncle Sam hands out such contraband!
The fulsome, milky teet -- now hard drying.
The middle class is broke and tired,
minds numb, fearful, without hope to retire.
Mom and Dad both hard clinging on the ride.
No one’s around to teach dear Johnny
how to tinker that old mower running.
No one’s around to teach sweet Jilly
to make paper-dolls from old dead money.
So forsake the cook, forget the maid,
and sweating mow your own damn lawn;
but look beyond, to what is yet to come.
Will John and Jill even well know their own?
Uncle Sam will doting father role play,
swarmy smiling; dunning more daily bread.
Brings to mind my sharecropping Great Grandfather,
Who robbed Grandma Ollie of all she spun with thread.
Grandma Ollie packed up her boots and left,
high stepped bravely from beneath that bloke,
into old America -- where dreams with heft
Weren’t choked dry by Uncle Sam’s sucking yoke . . .
Copyright ©Katie.Flippin, July 25, 2010; All Rights Reserved
From African Press International - Listen Up.........
- Obama Lied. Uncle Sam Died. Lady Liberty Cried. Lady Justice Sighed. African Press International (A
Nonetheless, America is at her lowest point ever. And this is because of a man who exploded on the national scene as if shot from a cannon by multiple global partnerships, and by many individuals who have remained strangely silent . . .
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Ah, Sunni, you just make my day, so glad this struck a note with you and I hope we do as a country and people see those bygone days once again. Many thanks for commenting.....
I am one that is sad that our country has lost so much. The good old days are gone..Great job in capturing the real state of what is around us.
Sunnie
god damn i love it...this is great...such style and beatnik pizzaz...wonderful evcoative language...what a wonderful find.
!! Yes it was funny, Saddlerider, you had me instantly sputtering over my coffee.:) I'm glad you loved every mouthful and thanks very much for commenting and rating this up........Katie
Lovely poem I was eating blueberries when I started to read and laughed so hard I sucked a blueberry up my nose, now that's not funny, see what you made me blue:0) kidding apart, great poem, loved every mouthful. Rate UP.
Hi Akhimamun, Fab and hip all in one day, makes my day! Good to see you here, and many thanks. KF
This is an excellent poem, i admire all of your work, it's fab! Keep it up :)
Well, you leave me floored...I'll take that as a complement, I've never been called 'hip' before in my whole life!
..you have invented your own language .... once again - and you're so hip it hurts!!!!
Hey Wayne, it does come off as a bit of a rant ... :) Thanks very much for the kind words of compliment, I was aiming for those two ducks!
Excellent...a ranting plea in verse. You did a beautiful job on this gaining an excellent poem and making a political statement...two ducks with one shot! WB
:) Tom, I'm happy that it brought a rueful smile, I hope those who read it feel sorrow for what's been lost, question why, and look ahead....Thanks for commenting, Katie
A poem that brings a rueful smile. Thank you.
Hi Bayoulady! Those simple days, or so they do seem in hindsight, and sweeter somehow, came to a rather screeching halt by the early 70's, seems like the degradation of morals has tracked well the degradation of the American ecomomy as well, just my opinion most days.
And, no, not much is booming now, accept a lot of rhetoric and government programs.... thanks for commenting, and sure wish I had an Alice (but then don't we all!) to make me a buttermilk pie to go along with some catfish! Great hub recipes of yours, that fish pic continues to be hunger provoking, you can almost reach out and bite it.... The only deserts I make well are egg custard pies and rice puddings...would love to see a hub on authentic Louisiana rice pudding!
Hey Micky, glad you liked this and its message. And sadly I think this machine is so slick that America will be conned yet again, I think I'd support Blago :) for high office, at least he's pretty open about who he is! As long as we continue to have the privilege of waving our American flag, we can continue to be hopeful of change that has the survival of America close at heart.
Aw, you are so right. I grew up in those simple days of which you write. Baby boomers they call us. What's booming now for us? A pitiful little,I say.
Yo KFlippin! great poem and message as your usual! Thank you Ma'am! I'm afraid these liars that lie so well will con America in all the future elections too. We'll wave the flag for these folks still.
Hi Tom, Glad to see you here, and yes, your quote is so very true, and hopefully the truth between the lines of laughter will find a way out one day........Katie
Hey Pop, Glad you like this one! Some days it seems like laughing is the only medicine left.... :)
KF,
Great job- "Much truth lies between the fine line of laughter and truth".
TH
Love the poem. You know how I feel about laughing and crying at the same time!
Hey Gus! LOL, glad you liked it, there are so many funny poems about current events here on hubpages we might be able to consolidate them all and put out a new book - 'Hubber Humor on That Hopey Changey Thing'.......
Katie - This one could easily be in the book, "How to complain and spread the humor at the same time."
Gus :-)))
Thanks, Cousin Fudd, nice to see you and your old tractor here....KF
Good job and a great hub.
Uncle Sam & Outdoor Living!
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tillsontitan Level 7 Commenter 6 weeks ago
You've outlined Uncle Sam's downfall...whether in truth or fiction things are not the same and Will Jack and Jill even well know their own? Only the Lord knows what's in store for this poor forsaken country, we can only hope it returns to the grandeur we once knew. Voted up.