Bye Centennial ...

by Tony Ryals

It was the bicentennial of the American Constitution,
The day they handcuffed and dragged me to a psychiatric institution,
Since then I've detested that lying document that caused me such confusion,
I took literally what it told me about free speech and separation of church and state
If only I hadn't believed my government I could have avoided my dreadful fate,
It was only a day before that Reagan greeted the Pope with a smile,
I should have known by then that both church and state were senile,
The Pope was in the front of the church,
The Jews and I were in the back,
Resentfulness of that god awful Pope none of us did lack,
The Jews were rightfully protesting the Pope wanting to make Auschwitz a Catholic shrine,
I was protesting overpopulation and manipulation of a government I thought was mine,
I saw then in the distance people chanting at the wall,
Thought I'd wander over, and recite my poem criticizing John Paul,
So I wandered on over and waited til they were through,
Chanting to that church wall
John Paul II,
We Love You,
I said I had this poem
I said that it was free,
I said that I'd recite it cause it was getting dark to see,
I started to recite it,
They moved back a bit,
Whether or not they respected free speech I didn't give a shit,
Not imaging in America that free speech could be a crime
Or the dangers to the Constitution when church and state align,
To be continued...