What to do with a presidential name?
Observe, and one will see where they belong.
Oppression drives families apart—
Desperation becomes an identity—Okie dokey—
Yet few do much to balance the playing field.
Gargantuan Capitalist desert dust
Unequivocably formed this national monument.
To hell with wealth and greed,
Hardship falls harder on the have-nots.
Revolution, though, has its costs.
In the end, a wandering singing prophet is an
Excellent target for corporal confinement.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, September 6, 2026.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: September 6th, 2026 07:40
- Comment from author about the poem: An acrostic Scorched Sunday poem. Part of my Scorched Strays collection. This poem draws inspiration from a wandering singer whose music gave voice to workers, migrants, and the dispossessed. It considers the forces that forged a national monument—and the cost of becoming one.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 19
- Users favorite of this poem: sorenbarrett, Friendship
- In collections: Scorched Strays.
Offline)
Comments9
There’s a damn clever hidden structure here—the opening question about a “presidential name” leads into oppression, Okies, capitalism, hardship, revolution, and finally the wandering singing prophet, which strongly evokes Woody Guthrie without ever simply naming him. The acrostic is the real knife: the opening letters spell O D Y E G T R E, while the oddly deliberate wording and historical imagery make the poem feel like a coded little monument to the Dust Bowl, Guthrie, and the American class struggle.
Thank you so much, Thomas! I had a hell of a good time working Woody into Scorched Strays…he belongs among them. Always appreciate you, my friend. 🌪️🎸🛤️🙏
A wandering genius of song and social reform a modern bard and prophet rejected like all in the past. A lovely write my friend and all the more applicable today.
Absolutely, Soren…Woody kept putting his voice where power would have preferred silence, and that is a big part of why he still matters now. So glad this one landed with you, my friend. 🌪️🎸🛤️🙏
Always a pleasure my friend
a beautiful write my friend
Thanks so much, Norman. Woody belongs among the scorched and wandering souls this collection keeps finding…really glad this one landed with you, my friend. 🌪️🎸🛤️🙏
landed it did
I listen to the lullaby of the dusty road which slowly fades into the sky...
Absolutely, Lorenz…there’s something almost ghostly about imagining those songs still drifting along the old roads long after the singer is gone. Glad this one found you, my friend. 🌪️🎸🛤️🙏
Well said, strong, right to the point. Your poem addresses themes of oppression, economic disparity, revolution, and the consequences of societal neglect. Your poem references the struggles of families affected by systemic issues, hinting at historical contexts like the Dust Bowl era and the broader implications of capitalist exploitation.
You got the heart of it, Friendship…this one is looking at the people forced to carry the cost while larger systems keep rolling on around them. Glad it landed with you, my friend. 🌪️🎸🛤️🙏
❤️
Popeye's upset. He can't see much spinach growing there! lol.
Read this while playing "This Land is Your Land" Thanks for bringing out the artist as the song usually supersedes the person behind their work.
You are such a clever so and so Tristan .. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ .. sorry couldn't find any black star icons so these will have to do .. 🖤🏴👍
very well done true about capitalism
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