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his greatest asset
is that no one believed him
capable of anything else
arriving
by limousine
accompanied by his 2nd wife
he salutes a flowerpot
no one bats an eyelid
the 50s
must have been
a crucible of sorts
commentating at ball games
endorsing products
speaking at business lunches
a decade of appliances
a frigidaire in an automobile
gramophones in cabinets
live advertising
Martians in the Arizona desert
bubblegum cards. sputnik
and the chance of a new career
the success of Oakland
in his last three years as Governor
as logical as the Nevada slots
Carter jogging to defeat
in Tehran, the Vegas money
already lodged on a second
term
. . .
the most powerful man in the world
sitting behind a desk
partially deaf
his nose eaten by cancer
reading an autocue
. . .
he leaves by helicopter
waving to a lamppost