Speaker of the House

Mike Johnson (R-La.) the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A Republican representing Louisiana's 4th Congressional District, he was first elected to the position on October 25, 2023, following the removal of Kevin McCarthy. Johnson was re-elected to the position at the start of the 119th Congress in January 2025.

Speaker of the House
without her presence,
she left an amplified

vacuum quiet as a mouse
with a craving for Melba Toast
and Manischewitz.

At long last our Bubala (or bubaleh/bubele)
a Yiddish term of endearment meaning
often used by older family members,
particularly grandmothers,
to express affection
toward children or loved ones,
which literally translates
to "little doll" or "little girl)."

Amazon Alexa Echo
came back her exploits
to mama and papa
with rip roaring assiduity,
(as if she happened to be chased)
gratuity, apologized for her unintentional
longinquity perspicuity, propinquity
and suddenly, I felt on top of world
where super tramping
sonic sounds didst issue forth

analogous to a cheap trick

courtesy from the likes
of bone crushing
and earth splitting blasts
by George thoroughly good
and bad to the bone bad a$$ bands
from the likes of
Black Sabbath and Metallica
shatter the deathlike silence
with their cacophony

bashing, fracturing, and nixing

not only the airwaves
but also violently assaulting
the delicate constituent parts of ear
which happens to be divided
into three main parts:
the outer ear (collects sound),
middle ear (amplifies sound),
and inner ear (converts sound
to nerve signals and controls balance),
the key structures include the pinna,
ear canal, tympanic membrane (eardrum),
ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes),
cochlea, semicircular canals,
and auditory nerve,
and aside from finding
one stone temple pilot
hard of hearing, nevertheless
he experienced being
hypnotized as one rapt listener
while he didst egg gone eyes
hashing out a poem in general
and the one thee be reading

this one in particular

jump/kick starting
creative healthy juices
trying his darnedest
(except when he gets needled)
to eke out surviving,
(albeit barely - and then
just by the skin
of his indentured teeth,
and the hairs of his chinny chin chin)
receiving monthly electronic deposits
courtesy social security
to stay financially afloat
within the shark infested muddy waters
and now in the same breath in conjunction

sustaining an unexpected costly Temu fixation

courtesy the spouse,
a sudden unexpected

fast diminishing (to a vanishing point of no return)

mine feeble monetary resources
affecting one wordsmith
who got a late start spinning
sophomoric snippy snappy supple stanzas
more apropos of a youngster -
such as a kindergartner
versus me just striving to garner attention
from an anonymous reading audience
with the advantage
of a Progressive Nationwide
Travelers on his side
where this gecko
(and as a defensive driver)
claim an added bonus
due to a clean driving record

with only a small number of accidents,
(and only yours truly killed
for the umpteenth time,
but most times death be not proud
now worn as a red badge of courage)

within nearly a half century
as a licensed practical driver

nursing, tapping, and zapping
videlicet safely maneuvering
car-a-pace borrowed or bought vehicles,

and playing chauffeur
since I wedded (almost
three decades ago) unbridled spouse,

who can be quite the back seat driver.