A Republican Senator of Integrity
by Pesach Rotem
“I sought him, but I could not find him”
— Song of Songs 5:6 —
A Republican senator of integrity was found on the rocky coast of Maine.
A second Republican senator of integrity was found in the opposite corner of the country,
on the frozen Alaskan tundra.
And if you expect this poem to continue,
if you think the next line must inevitably be “A third Republican senator of integrity,”
you will be disappointed.
A third Republican senator of integrity could not be found.
We searched from Florida to California, from Texas to North Dakota.
We searched in nooks and crannies and cubby-holes, in cities and farms and coal mines.
We sought him, but we could not find him.
So this once-hopeful poem now sputters to a close, pointless,
plopped on the page like a lifeless blob,
like a bowlful of cold porridge,
like Mitch McConnell’s conscience.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett will soon take her seat of infamy.
Pesach Rotem was born and raised in New York and now lives in the village of Yodfat in northern Israel. His poems have been published in more than two dozen literary journals including Chiron Review, Natural Bridge, Synchronized Chaos, and Voices Israel. He is a member of the Israel Association of Writers in English.
Exactly! Spot on…