Randolph Bridgeman

RV guy is a republican—go figure

he was giving it to the wife
when on the down stroke he drove
it home like a gretzky slap shot
and gave himself a hernia
for which he took  workman's comp
for the next six weeks
and during the operation they
used one of those defective meshes
they're always talking about on tv
so he settled for an undisclosed sum
and moved his family into a new house
with a mortgage that went upside down
so he took the government bailout
his children got educational grants
and in the hard times subsidized housing
because they couldn't live on
the minimum wage while they struggled
to get through college 
and while he don't mind inviting his gay                            
granddaughters and nephews to
thanksgiving dinner because you know
whatcha gonna do every families
got one or two
that's where he draws the line goddam it
marriage and equal rights that's out of
the question
and he'll be the first to tell you that he's
voted republican in every election since
the 70's because hell no he don't believe
in big government.

Randolph Bridgeman is the recipient of the Edward T. Lewis Poetry Prize from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He has four books of poems: South of Everywhere, Mechanic on Duty, The Odd Testament, and The Poet Laureate of Cracker Town. The Ugly American is forthcoming in 2016. contact