draft for a rally - "boondoggle" in poetry

  • June 18, 2017, 12:09 p.m.
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  • Public

they’ll work up any boondoggle they can
to skim off the top of the money involved and
hire out for work from their contributors
won’t they?

the nano-manno-banana whatever in Marcy
sits mostly empty
will sit mostly empty
a pipe-dream for us and
a gift to the pipe fitting contributors
who laid in the underused plumbing
but they’ll work up any boondoggle they can
won’t they?

in Syracuse just up the road
they’re trying to tell people that
minor league hockey needs to be played
in some kind of half-billion dollar monstrosity
instead of the same functional place
that always housed hockey
in our next-door city
but they’ll work up any boondoggle they can
won’t they?

they’ll sink billions for a football team in Vegas
in Schenectady for a casino far bigger than their needs
for equipment that’ll never be used by the army
but they’ll work up any boondoggle they can
skim a few bucks off the top of
won’t they?

because that’s what this is
that’s all that this is
you don’t have to tear up
the beating heart of a just-starting-to-recover town
plop a brand-new megalith into the middle of it
for the purposes of our local health
we have many fine hospitals here
take a third of the money, spruce them all up a bit
that’s all that we’d need!
but that smaller saner project
with far less off-the-top money to grub
and aye there’s the rub
aye there’s the rub
but they’ll work up any boondoggle they can
soak a little blood money off the top of
won’t they?

but will they?
will they?
ladies and gents and all you in-between
with all our best efforts
that’s left to be seen
will they or won’t they?


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