30/30: Golden Shovel poem #11

source: They Saw Their Teacher Marching to the Capitol

 

They marched gaily, they marched uproariously, they

Marched steadfastly, they saw

Their goal, the golden dome, ahead, where their

Plan to rearrange the election, said their teacher,

Would keep their god in place. Their marching

Filled the streets with ancient hatreds, a paean to

Fear, bigotry, blindness. They followed the flag of the

Secessionists defeated 156 years ago into the Capitol.

 

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Here is how I am using Terrance Hayes’s Golden Shovel poem format, as proposed by the Sunday New York Times "At Home" section, for 30 Poems in 30 Days during National Poetry Month.

 

Take a newspaper headline that attracts you.

Use each word in the line as the end word for each line in your poem.

Keep the end words in order.

Describe the story that the headline is for.

The poem does not have to be about the same subject as the headline that creates the end words.