A Lesson Learned from Trump

“We are all equal in the presence of death.” —Publilius Syrus (100 BC)

Today I learned a lesson from the one
Whose acid tongue has beaten down the best;
A man whose biting slights can’t be outdone
Laid every cutting quip and barb to rest.
When notified while on a rally trip
That Justice Ruth had drawn her final breath,
I saw his shoulders slump and his head dip
With news of God’s great equalizer—Death.

I waited for the platitudes and airs;
The politician’s pompous overview.
I only saw a humble man who cares;
A man whose words were graceful, good, and true…

Gentle words that cast aside divide
And spoke of Ginsburg’s life with quiet pride.

 

 

 

Susan Jarvis Bryant is a church secretary and poet whose homeland is Kent, England.  She is now an American citizen living on the coastal plains of Texas.  Susan has poetry published in the UK webzine, Lighten Up On Line, The Daily Mail, and Openings (anthologies of poems by Open University Poets).

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43 Responses

  1. Mike Bryant

    I watched you work on this poem. I saw your reaction to the short video. You have really highlighted the dignity and class of Trump beautifully in this perceptive work. Your choice of the sonnet form was inspired.
    They say that Trump is a terrible politician. I say that he’s a helluva man.
    Thank YOU!

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you, biggest fan. It’s the first presidential election I’m able to vote in as a new American citizen. I’ve been watching events very, very closely. I love this country and take my vote very, very seriously.

      Reply
      • C.B. Anderson

        I doubt nothing in Mike’s comment, and though I thought Donald handled the news exactly right, privately I say to myself: Well, there’s another squirrel gone from the attic.

      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        C.B., I hear you. I just thought this aspect of Trump’s character is rarely seen, and for those who see only the bolshie, brash-mouthed side of him, this is a rare view of the man’s heart. He’s not only a winner – he doesn’t have to read from a teleprompter and cheat to win. He’s a natural, and all those who appreciate the truth know it!

      • Mike Bryant

        C.B. I agree. Just get you and about three hundred more to the voting booth… we need every state we can get. Ain’t Trump amazin’?

      • Michael Pauker

        In what bizarre alternate universe may the monster Trump be viewed as possessing such attributes as humility and grace?

  2. Joe Tessitore

    Well-said and beautifully written!
    I thought seriously about not voting this year, since I live in NYC and my dissenting vote means next to nothing.
    I couldn’t bring myself to do it, and will be there bright and early, thinking of you with a smile.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Joe, you have made my day! My grandmother always told me that because those suffragettes fought for my vote, I should wield it with pride. I fought for my American citizenship for seven long years and the greatest gift for me is to vote for a country I believe in. Joe – I’m thrilled you’re joining me. If everyone thought they couldn’t make a difference, great things would never be achieved. MAGA!!

      Reply
      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        … Joe, please don’t wear a Trump hat at the polling booth! Mike and I love you too much!!

    • Mike Bryant

      Joe,
      You’re speaking my language. After the election, if you want your vote to count just move on down here to Texas. I’ll help with the furniture, make a barbecue brisket and Susan makes a mean martini… you and yours will be welcomed with open arms.

      Reply
      • Joe Tessitore

        So very kind of you both!!!

        Bombay Sapphire, up, with olives.

      • C.B. Anderson

        The problem, Mike, and you probably know this already, is that things are so bad in California that many people there are moving to places like Texas, and since they haven’t learned the lessons they should have learned, they bring their political values with them. If Texas ever becomes a “blue” state, this country is done.

      • Mike Bryant

        And that’s why Texas needs lots of conservatives to leave their ruined states and come on down, That way, we’ll keep Texas “red” and free C.B.

    • C.B. Anderson

      Joe,

      My feeling on the matter of voting in a state where my political views are in the minority is this: If I don’t vote, then I’ve given up my right to complain about the result.

      Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you so very much for your beautiful comment. I wrote this poem this morning because Donald Trump’s grace touched my heart. Now, you have touched my heart and made my every line thoroughly worthwhile – bless you, C. Miller.

      Reply
  5. Margaret Coats

    Susan, thanks for the poem, especially the word “graceful,” and thanks even more for posting the video. I’ve talked to one person who may refuse to read your poem and watch the video because he is put off by all the vitriol he says Trump said, and of course he saw it on TV. Thus we need this truth, and your fitting interpretation, in as many places as possible.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Margaret, thank you very much for your comment. The media of today is so disingenuous, it’s a wonder anyone knows what’s going on… but, the truth is out there if one cares to dig for it. I find a lot of people are far too willing to depend upon sources that are obviously skewed. The year 2020 may well prove to be a case in study for unreliable sources and the insidious nature of propaganda. Although I shouldn’t be (having studied some of the more dreadful aspects of history) it still shocks me that people are so easily duped. Though, I am sure there are many out there who would read this poem and my comments and be scandalized at my view.

      Reply
  6. David Watt

    Susan, thank you for showing a side of Donald Trump that is so rarely seen in the media. Your lovely sonnet presents its case clearly and unequivocally.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you very much for your lovely comment, David. You are right, it is rare that the heart of the most hated US president is revealed, and I’m thrilled this wonderful site gave me the opportunity to show it.

      Reply
  7. Gabriel Griffin

    Good sonnet. However, I cannot believe there is true humility – or any other virtue or Christian feeling – in one who separates little children from their mothers and shuts them in cages.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Gabriel, thank you very much for taking the time to read and comment; it’s much appreciated.

      I am very sorry to see you have succumbed to the heinous lies that have been spread globally. Firstly, those “cages” were constructed and used by the Obama administration. The Trump administration got rid of them. Secondly, children are the most valuable commodity there is for cheap labour and sex. Many, many children are trafficked across the border with criminals posing as their parents. The Trump administration is doing DNA testing together with investigations to make sure the children aren’t being sex-trafficked. Approximately, 30% of the children tested are found to be victims of this lucrative trade. Also, many of the smugglers when confronted with a DNA swab, admit they are not related, so these numbers aren’t figured into the 30%.

      An eagle eye is needed to stop this evil act. The Trump administration is that eagle eye, and many are most grateful for the efforts made to keep children safe. You won’t see this in national or international news. I live close to the border and know exactly what’s going on. I also happen to believe children are society’s gifts and should be treated as such. I know my view is unpopular as far as the corrupt MSM is concerned, but the truth means far more to me than my reputation. This is not the simple morality play the press is making it out to be, and far more people need to be aware of this. I’m glad your comment gave me the opportunity to speak out. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Gabriel

        Susan, thank you for your reply; I agree wholeheartedly with you that children are society’s gifts, they are very precious, and that so often they are sadly trafficked, a despicable trade. However, many journalists from different countries investigated at the time and reported that, even allowing for some false statements of parentage, often children were torn from their true parents, and certainly they were kept on the floor in cages not designed to hold children. We cannot condemn all journalists as being corrupt, the majority are individuals who work hard, report what they see, and leave it to us to form our opinions. The British bbc is known worldwide for its lack of bias and fair reporting (a link to this matter https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44518942) while Melania Trump herself spoke up saying she hoped for “immigration reform that secures our borders and keeps families together.” Her words clearly indicate that families were not kept together under Trump.

      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        Thank you for your response. I agree with you on Melania’s reaction to the immigration situation and her hope for reform. The immigration situation was appalling under the Obama administration and, as I said before, the cages were built under Obama, not Trump. Melania was talking about reforming that system as it stood before her husband made significant changes. The fact that the BBC pushed the Trump/Cages story and didn’t mention the root of the problem says it all – they have their own agenda that doesn’t align with the truth.

      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        Gabriel, another thought. Is Trump worse than Xi Xinping, who is imprisoning Falun Gong practitioners and selling their organs to the Western World, and sending the male Uighurs to re-education camps for being Muslim, while he places his own soldiers to live in their homes with their wives? Is Trump worse than Sayyid Ali Hosseini Ali Khamenei, the Ayatollah of Iran, who has removed all freedoms from his own people? Is Trump worse than Kim Jong-un who kills and imprisons his people at whim? If you need to know the authenticity of the press, just look at how they report on Trump’s interactions with these dictators compared to Obama, who kneeled and bowed to every single one of them, sending money and securing deals that he and Biden benefited from. Take a look at the video with Obama promising future benefits after the election to Vladimir Putin. Do you think it odd that Obama and Blair have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their contributions to peace in the Middle East while they were at war in Iraq and Afghanistan – a war that never ended? Do you think it odd that Trump is considered a pariah, while he has just secured peace in the Middle East? The reason you might not be asking yourself these questions is because the MSM isn’t doing its job. Perhaps it’s time for us to do personal research beyond the abundant array of skewed opinion pieces at our fingertips on the internet… and, that is exactly what they are, opinion pieces – not news.

  8. Joseph S. Salemi

    If this Gabriel Griffin character actually believes that “the British BBC is known worldwide for its lack of bias and fair reporting”, he must be living on another planet.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Dr. Salemi, the British Bullshit Corporation has a lot to answer for. I am sorry Gabriel appears to have ignored me. All the time people are turning their backs on the truth when they’re still able to access it for themselves, we will face the same fate as every country that is now under the wicked boot of totalitarianism. And, I only wish Gabriel understood that unless the “journalists” of today follow the strict PC rules of the powers that pay their wages, they will be out of a job. Perhaps Gabriel should follow the money.

      Reply
      • Gabriel Griffin

        Susan, I am grateful to you for illustrating your beliefs, it has been illuminating. To clarify: I do not watch only BBC but also many other news channels, including Fox. Should I be surprised that other comments by fellow poets immediately take on an aggressive tone, or is that normal in today’s US? However, I wish you all a peaceful election. Now, back to poetry!

      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        Gabriel, many are fleeing cities whose businesses have been looted and burned, whose police have been defunded, whose people and cops have been killed, whose mayors have refused assistance from federal government because their hatred for Trump is greater than their care for the people they are meant to represent. If you detect a tone of hostility, it’s because people are terrified for their future and sick and tired of their dire situation being misrepresented worldwide by the MSM and then, when they speak the truth, being shut down or glibly dismissed.

        I deal with my pain through poetry and I’m thankful to this site (quite probably the only poetry site in the US that would publish my poem) for allowing me the privilege of being heard. Thank you for engaging with me and thank you for your thoughts. Back to poetry it is!

    • Mike Bryant

      I Googled Gabriel. Gabriel runs poetryonthelake.org. is British and lives in Italy, I believe. The site is sponsored by UNESCO. Could Gabriel be a one worlder that believes that we peasants must shut up, sit down and believe all the propaganda they’re shoveling?

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Ah yes… one of those rich Oxbridge globalists who makes a very comfortable NGO salary while living in Chiantishire, and lecturing to us poor peasantry. He’s probably still curled up in a corner, traumatized over Brexit.

      • Mike Bryant

        Fox News has turned into a few conservatives surrounded by a sea of traitors. I bet Tucker won’t last out the year.

    • C.B. Anderson

      No, Joseph, he lives on THIS planet, where brainwashing is the norm, and where the most insidious type happens to be the self-induced variety. People believe what they want to believe, and seldom pay attention to facts or truth or any of that garbage. Methinks Gabriel just likes the sound of his own trumpet.

      Reply
  9. Joseph S. Salemi

    To Mike B. —

    I have a good friend whose wife works at Fox News. Years ago she said the very same thing that you have just said. The outfit is basically managed by a cabal of media liberals who have slowly strangled any REAL and HARD-HITTING right-wing commentary in favor of what the left calls “a controlled opposition.” Tucker Carlson is one of the very few courageous rightists there — and already the knives are out to get rid of him.

    To Kip Anderson —

    I know what you mean only too well. I have deliberately stopped speaking to some family members and former friends because it makes no sense trying to argue with androids and zombies.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you very much for your encouraging comment, Johanna. I’m thrilled you like it. The site is wonderful and there are a variety of poems on here to suit every taste. I hope you’ll become a regular visitor. With much gratitude.

      Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you very much, Cheryl. I’m thrilled you enjoy my poetry and really appreciate your words.

      Reply

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