My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.

For my country is no longer a beacon of light onto the world.

It has rebuked the principles of freedom, equality, and democracy.

It has torn asunder a government designed to prevent the dangers of consolidated power.

Government of the Don is here.

Republican congressional members quake in his presence.

Cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries compete to be his most obsequious servants.

Supreme Court justices bow to the immunity of his office.

Regulatory agencies shakedown his enemies.

Multinational companies acquiesce to his demands.

His followers build shrines to him, tattoo his image on their bodies, and purchase his trinkets.

Complete loyalty to the Don is the primary requisite to be a member of the Don tribe.

There is no god, but the Don.  His word is holy and true.  His riches are beyond expectations.

Woe to those who oppose the Don.

Who speak ill of the Don.

Who make fun of the Don.

Who refuse to pay tribute to the Don.

Who are not part of the Don cult.

For they shall suffer, be persecuted, be extorted, be ridiculed, be denied due process, be intimidated, be threatened, or be crushed.

I wail in anguish at the darkness that has been unleashed upon us.

Yet, I will rejoice because the beacon still glimmers.  A force is emerging to help the beacon glow brightly again.

A day will come when my joy will return, my grief will leave, and my heart will be well.

And the country once again will sing the songs seeking to establish liberty, equality, and democracy for all.

David Fitz, Bradford