Dear Vonnegut

Damn, sir, but you were right.
Had you lived in 2020, I can picture
your gallows laughter, decorated with Pall Mall
vapor.

Did I tell you about the orange
demagogue with the wandering hands
and low vocabulary?

My friends said:
We had Reagan, so why not?
Surely, though he’s an idiot, he will hire
only the best people.

Yeah.

Did I mention the move to masks,
pillars of disinformation that ensued,
friends unfollowed, unfriended –

hoax, they said, as bodies stacked up
much like Dresden. Firebombed by ignorance.

Did I forget to tell you the story of the sudden
miracle vaccine, refused by so many? My affection
for dystopian stories has been somewhat tainted

but the unblinking eye of a doomsday prophet
is one for regarding.