YEAR 2025 Poem: the holy union of politics and media, by Emma Townsend

afterimages skulk across the
backs of my eyelids like
dystopian war propaganda.
american flags –
drag queens –
high schoolers huddled under
too small desks –
and an eerie smile with the whitest
veneers. did you know
the economy is going to shit? did
you know healthcare is not
your god-given right? did you
know your neighbors repost fake
quotes from an orange dictator and
they hate you.

did you know?

you better go out and
vote but only for the person
I want. you better
do your research in tiktoks and facebook
memes and fall for the reasoning of
who shouts loudest. you better
put your faith in that cardboard bolted in
your u.s. soil. you better
have some extra because it’s bound to
be stolen by maga hats and members of
the mega church.

media makes me feel
sticky like those sweet
talking fakers may have
infected my brain –
finally
I’ll repost:

“Vance defends spreading claims that Haitian migrants are eating pets”
~ npr.org