Guilt of experiment

Newsday

Samuel Abonyo

Mar 02, 2018

Samuel Abonyo's poem narrates disappointments from supporters of President Donald Trump who trusted and hoped that he would bring changes to their lives.

I wished Trump a win

For I wished to see an experiment

For I had never seen an experiment

It is true; I had never seen an experiment

I did not see Stalin’s experiment

I did not see Hitler’s experiment

I did not see Mussolini’s experiment

I did not see Mao’s experiment

I did not see Pol Pot’s experiment

I did not see Caligula’s experiment

I did not see Nero’s experiment

I am telling you; believe me

I did not see any of those experiments

And many more, I am telling you, believe me

In the tales tellers told

Were to me those experiments.

Imaginative embellishments

By historians who wrote those histories

About imaginary experiments they invented

In the tales tellers told

Were to me those experiments ingenious inventions

By historians who made up the experiments

To beguile me

To interest me

To misinform me

To mislead me

To lobotomise me

And to indoctrinate me.

None of those experiments was true

Believe me, there was not an iota of truth

In any of them, tellers just made them up.

But now before me

Was a promise

Of an experiment

Of a true experiment

Was a promise

Of a live experiment.

Now before me were not historians’ fabulous experiments

Now before me were not those fabulists’ fables

Now before me stood a promising experiment

A true experiment

An enchanting experiment

And Trump was to me already riveting

To me, believe me, Trump seemed to have made himself up

As they had made everything up, believe me,

As they had made the election too up.

Was he fake, like all the others? I was itching

To see what would happen, what effect he would have.

Now before me was a promise

Of a true, of a live experiment

That had begun unfolding before my eyes

That was to unfold fully, before my eyes.

Enchanted

I would see how, like Erick Honecker

He would build his wall, believe me

I would see how he would build his beautiful wall

I would see how he would make Mexico pay; believe me.

Enchanted

I would watch his extreme vetting of Moslems live

I would watch his extreme vetting of Moslems; believe me.

Enchanted

I would see him put America first

I would see him make NATO members pay; believe me

Pay proportionate to the their consumption

You believe me, of American protection.

Enchanted

I would see him renegotiate and abrogate trade agreements

I would see his extreme renegotiation and abrogation

Of trade agreements, you believe me.

Enchanted

I would see him abolish that putative devourer of American jobs

Globalisation, believe me, I would see how he would replace globalisation

With his beautiful protectionism, believe me, with his beautiful Americanisation.

Enchanted

I wished to see Trump perform all those experiments of his

And many more tramp experiments of his.

And he won!

Trump won!

Believe me!

Tramp won!

Believe me!

The win I wished Trump came true!

And not all of it was made up!

No one dreamt all of it up!

Not all of it was untrue!

I saw not a figment of

Historians’ imagination in it

But Trump said not all of it was untrue!

Believe me!

Trump said he lost the popular vote but won!

Believe me!

And that he saw that some of it was true!

I tell you, believe me!

That some of it was not a fabulists’ confabulation!

I tell you, believe me!

That he lost the popular vote but won

Because they rigged the popular vote!

Because dead voters voted!

Because illegal immigrants voted!

Oh, yes, I wished Trump a win

I am telling you, believe me!

And my wish came true’

Causing me untold anguish

For Trump was true

For Trump was no fabulist’s confabulation

For Trump was not fabulous

For Trump did not make himself up.

For no sooner did we inaugurate Trump

Than the full horror of tramp experiment hit me