Desert Dweller

They sip tea or guzzle
sixty-year-old Scotch
that cost a mortgage payment.

The red president
and the blue senator
talk circuitously
about the mundane.

In art, red and blue mix
to form purple for passion,
but in this alternate reality,
both red and blue
are yellow on the inside.

Afraid of each other,
or rather the other’s
dossier of potentially
damaging information.

Afraid of a possible dip
in the next poll,
potential loss
of the next election.

Nothing of importance
will be decided
as a result of this
luncheon paid for by
citizens who will never
be part of this club.

No decisions will be made nor action taken
during the next dozen
citizen-funded luncheons—

unless it will appear favorably in a headline or soundbite.

As they pass
the yellow man who served them,
on their way to respective meetings,
they do not know or care
that he is red or blue
or purple on the inside
or that he is fully aware
that they are both yellow.

© 2026 Bruno Talerico
116/365

Image created with AI.