Poetry

Reuters photo

By

Alejandro Escudé

The Isle of Ailes

Is a large bulky island

full of waiters and big plates

holding piles of guilt-sandwiches

gilded yachts sailing into shore

railings straddled by blondes

waving tiny American flags

and there’s a crowd of reporters

wearing dimpled-smile masks

over other masks belting out

the Star Spangled Banner

atop a stage the shape of a cross

the volcano at the center spews

news-bending molten viewpoints

statues of Nixon Reagan

and Bush rose-lined paths

sculpted hedges and a helicopter

the painted FOX on its side

this is an island of colossal pride

held up over the choppy sea by

a peasant-mass of bone sinew

and flesh columns of starving

children and mad soldiers at the base

a thin layer of flattened women

humming God Bless America

all kept alive by tubes tapping

rank hype and nonsense

Alejandro Escudé

Alejandro Escudé’s first book of poems, My Earthbound Eye, was published in September 2013. He holds a master’s degree in creative writing from UC Davis and teaches English. Originally from Argentina, Alejandro lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.