Poem #2,859 | Panem et circenses

Panem et circenses still work
to stump us – Fed on loaves &
lies thrown as confetti [spread
until faded & trodden-in] – We
sit in sunlight’s scrub of heat –
warming after winter’s rub &
tease – Juvenal [long-dead] is
laughing in Rome – Our orders
in coffee shops dull a request
to pay more for [basic] needs –
sour lectern-gripped masters
let us know things’ll get better
[for others] – Spring will return
a short-lived fling in our hearts
& ambitions’ll rise [for a while]