A big sale is coming, the marketing of a century
Elvis and Marilyn and JFK have been spotted
in megamalls where cartoon characters hand out
coupons to the bargain hunting classes
Kings and queens and small time dictators
open glitzy dungeons to pay for ancestral castles
and the President’s memoir is already out for bid
I watch the honored saloonkeepers of my childhood
scramble to go global with ancient family recipes,
charlatans rush to the internet to hawk get-rich deals,
tear-jerk videos of orphans in the Holy Land,
snake oil cures for cancer, old age and low testosterone,
nonsense in tiny jars
The anchor with the practiced grin on cable news
doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry, if it’s time again
to show “All items half off,” play the $9.99 card,
weave more conspiracy theories for bored old men,
or shout, “Collateral damage in Iraq!” “Armageddon!”,
and wonders if anyone in TV land is even listening
or just flipping channels for better deals
When life’s a commercial and kings buffoons
days float away in silly balloons