A Post-Insurrection Love Note

Marilyn Robitaille

March 18, 2021

To Jacob Chansley, aka Jake Angeli, Capitol Insurrectionist

Hey, Angeli, I saw all the press

You, bare-chested, painted face

Red, white, and blue for war 

Viking hat with fur and horns

You say you marched the ley lines 

For insurrection, for chaos in the Chamber

Rising to a higher power, maybe alien

Listening to the Q, to the Q, to the QAnon

Hearing the Trumpet blast that took you

Into oblivion, into conspiracies so crazed 

That you believe, hand to God, that you believe

A miracle will take you to another universe

Crazy comes full circle, man 

Your Navy service anthrax-ended 

Since you refused to take your shot

For now you’re somewhere, parts unknown

Locked up and surely saying shaman prayers

You missed the first full moon of January

The Arizona sunset, desert purple hues

Music blaring from the speakers on your lawn

The neighbor’s grill hot with fish and steak

Savor now that life you led and lost 

Locked up, hated by the masses, ridiculed and mocked

A presidential pardon didn’t save you from yourself

So live with it and cultivate your idiotic dreams

Other brain-washed followers, mourn with them

Awash in a vast variety of lies, told and told again

Irony echoes in “lock her up” because now you are

No hope until Trump’s second-coming 

I heard you say those insane prayers to him

By that time, heaven help us should it arrive, 

The sane among us will be residents of Canada 

For now, I do so love to pity you

Marilyn Robitaille is Associate Professor of English at Tarleton State University, a member of the Texas A & M System. She is founding co-editor of Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas. Her book of illustrated poetry Not by Design: 50 Poems and Images (2018) has been featured in gallery readings with samplings of the original art exhibited. Her work has been included in a variety of poetry anthologies. She is the founder of Romar Press, an independent press dedicated to publishing works that embrace the power of artistic expression, touch the heart, and keep us civilized.