All-American Hindsight

New Poem.

On paper the words
were stunning 
and simple and 
well-turned,

the guarantees
seemed
sincere and 
all-encompassing; but 

now, after all the charm
of feeling welcomed
and declared to be
part of the family 
has passed,

now that loopholes and
conditions and 
unfortunate realities
have been explained
and explained again,

I recall that
behind every entrance to 
what has been called
“polite society”

stands a minion
with an agreeably polished
and impeccably detailed
gun.