Where have all the John Wayne’s gone?

How did he become

that idiot Dad, that senile Grandpa

on TV comedy and TV ad?

The frustrated money man

whose harshest curse is “Schwab!”.

The sweating knuckle dragger in the weight room,

“I lift things up! I put things down!”

He has been missed by so many!

But,

beware those who miss him,

both the men and the women who love him,

who feel the loss of the illusion they all cherish,

who want to raise from the dead

the dream from which they never woke.

The twitch in the biceps.

The sense of privilege laced with testosterone

that for the last century has been veiled,

not spoken of in polite conversation….

But now it’s 2024!

The temple veil’s been torn asunder.

The curtain between the holy places

rent from top to bottom.

We’ve reached the end of the yellow brick road.

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

He is an illusion!

I am reality!”

All the old illusions have revived!

Believers bow to a shimera

which has mustered all its remaining power

for one more go.

Before it’s eclipsed by a coalition of rainbows….