Resistance! Charles Rammelkamp (2)
Resistance! ∼ Charles Rammelkamp
A Life
The cars passing by on Gay Street
honked full-throated support,
drivers waving at us as we stood
at the War Memorial Plaza
in downtown Baltimore
waving placards on Resist Trump Tuesdays,
a diverse assembly of people
across a spectrum of ages, colors, religions.
Sometimes it felt futile as the gulls and pigeons
pecking at crumbs by the Black Soldiers Statue,
the Battle Monument, the Firefighters Memorial.
What were we actually accomplishing?
I only came occasionally,
after some jaw-dropping behavior or action
by the president or his administration –
churlish petulance exhibited
to a traditional ally,
like a spoiled teenager who doesn’t get his way,
his lies, his appointments,
Bannon, Sessions, Russia.
Just so necessary to register protest..
Now and then a Trump supporter passed by,
almost always young white men in pickup trucks,
shouting things like, “Trump’s gonna kick your ass!”
On this day, when we gathered
to support the investigation
into Trump’s collusion with Russia,
a man leaned out of his Ford F-150,
blared his horn and bellowed,
“Get a life!”
“Already got one!”
the lady on my right called back amiably.
We all roared our approval.