I Call This A Conclusion

what are pirates
if little kids
are taught
in insipid cartoons
that pirates share?
that pirates are fair?

what are pirates
if those kids grow up
and learn what pirates
really are?

what are pirates
if those kids forget
those insipid cartoons?

what are pirates
if they remember?

what are pirates
if a construct,
a momentary diversion,
a lark,
a blip on a radar
in an ever-evolving world,
definitions forever changing,
the static status quo
always shifting,
truths somehow altering,
facts here today and gone tomorrow,
the dinosaurs extinct forever
and then back again,
struggling into the popular consciousness
despite constant changes
about what they really were,
our fascination with a world
we'll never know
our insistence on fact,
or on ideals,
our hopes,
or our reality,
our fiction
demanding verisimilitude
except when it's cool,
and then being true to yourself
becomes a liability,

and what if history
is a different story
from the one we know?

well, I wish
the pirates knew...

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Zooid

Zooid n. any one of the individual members of a compound or colonial animal organization

an organization
that behaves
as if made up of
a bunch of animals:

It's getting hard to tell
who isn't
part of a zooid...
(and I know animals,
so let me tell them:
no offense,
animals!)

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Yegg

Yegg n. a criminal; specifically, a burglar or a safecracker

Someone who breaches
the public's trust:

It's become increasingly difficult
to tell
who's the yegg around here
as there are
so many
options

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Xenophobia

Xenophobia n. dread of foreigners or strangers

dread of those
who challenge
your convictions:

Nothing brings out xenophobia
like an election cycle

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Walleye

Walleye n. a large, staring eye

literally,
an eye on a wall;
Big Brother:

Walleye is
watching,
is judging
your every
thought
and action
and condemning you,
and Walleye is everyone
and that is
the world we live in,
where we now lack
all prudence
and perspective
and generally,
the basics
of good social
behavior
(and yet still have the gall,
somehow,
to complain about this
in others)

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Valiant

Valiant adj. brave; courageous; stouthearted

politically
expedient:

They were known
for their valiant stand
against their enemies

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Uncivil

Uncivil adj. rude; impolite

undeclared:

The divisions
of the country,
and the manner
or lack thereof
cooperation
between them,
marked an uncivil war

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Temperance

Temperance n. moderation in respect to the appetite or passions

the state of always
losing one's temper,
having no perspective
about anything:

They loved to preach
temperance,
as it was incredibly
convenient
for them

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Salmagundi

Salmagundi n. any medley or potpourri 

The current
state of the union,
which is to say,
state of disunion:

Quagmire
does not really begin
to express
current affairs,
and so we call it
salmagundi

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Recycle

Recycle v.t. to use repeatedly for different purposes

to repeat an approach
over and over
and over
and over
and over again,
mindless of its
decreased potency,
believing that it is
gaining momentum,
which in this era
is probably true:

The attempt to
recycle
the campaign
proved increasingly
vexing

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Quarantine

Quarantine n. the time during which a vessel suspected of carrying infectious disease is kept isolated from contact with shore

the spread
of malicious thought
as quickly
and as wildly
as possible:

The news media
has been under
quarantine
for months,
and it's driving me
crazy

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Panacea

Panacea n. something claimed as a universal remedy or medicine

a false monopoly
on truth:

The stories
of fake news
from their enemies
really started
to seem
ironic,
especially
with their
ideology
sounding like
panacea

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Overkill

Overkill n. the capacity of a nuclear weapon stockpile to kill many times the total of an enemy population

the nuclear option:

The effect of their reaction
was overkill

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Nuisance

Nuisance n. anything offensive, injurious, vexatious, or annoying

anything capable
of inconveniently
stealing thunder:

That guy who
rewrote the narrative
we were trying to sell
is a real nuisance

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Malarkey

Malarkey n. insincere or misleading talk

if one were to
politely
rephrase the original
definition
to indicate
its more common
acceptance
as lying,
then let's just assume
that today it has been
raised to an artform:

The level of malarkey
in public discord today
is quite impressive,
wouldn't you say?

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Leper

Leper n. one afflicted with leprosy

Indulge me
for a moment
(well, a tad more
than usual)
as I explore
a further classic
definition
of leper,
as a kind of
pariah,
and it's in that spirit
that we conjure
something new...

leper is
the new black:

The best way
to advance
in social currency
today
is to
announce yourself
a leper

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Kook

Kook n. one regarded as eccentric, foolish

Too descriptive
a term
in politics,
so of course
no one uses it,
and so
it doesn't exist:

There's no such thing
as kooks
in politics
(apparently)

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky n. gibberish

official designation
for the worth
of political discourse:

Twas jabberwocky,
the campaigns and debates,
the electoral trails,
the voters reacting,
the media thrashing,
all gone rocky
right out of the gates,
full of fails,
something
monkeys will fling

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Instructive

Instructive adj. conveying instruction

conveying
ineffective
criticism:

Their instructive comments
left a lot
to be desired

Just Another Word in the Dictionary - Heinous

Heinous adj. odiously evil

Politically expedient:

It was particularly
heinous
to exaggerate
everything.