The Coup d’Etat Was Televised

Neither this poem, nor much of modern American culture would be possible without Gil Scott Heron, to whom this is dedicated, and from whom the premise is appropriated. -Chris


You did watch right at home
You did turn on, log in, and cop out
You did find yourself on television, on your laptop and on your phone
and you even subscribed to commercials, because

The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was brought to you by Ford with limited interruptions
and best-in-category trucks with low finance rates
The coup d’etat did show you pictures of Trump blowing a bugle,
leading Marjorie, Mitch, McCarthy, Cruz, Graham, and Gaetz
to eat children at a pizza parlor with lizard people sex slaves, because
The coup d’etat was televised

The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was brought to you by MSNBC News, underwritten by Progressive
The coup d’etat will save you a bundle on your car insurance
The coup d’etat was brought to you by FOX News who promises you a better night’s sleep after bedtime stories
The coup d’etat will fluff your pillow
The coup d’etat will remove the grey
The coup d’etat will increase your share price
The coup d’etat will not leave a stain
The coup d’etat will take your complaint, because
The coup d’etat was televised

There is video of you and Bobby Sue
pushing that window glass in with a stolen flagpole
because you tagged a proud selfie on facebook
and twitter and tiktok too, because
the coup d’etat starred you 
There were pictures of cops beaten by white Americans on instant replay
There were pictures of cops beaten by white Americans on instant replay
and there were pictures of white Americans strolling home
after having a riot, taking their time,
adding filters to their stories, because
the coup d’etat was televised
There is video of Giuliani’s hair dye
sweating down his face in front of DILDO MADNESS
You did see video of Paul Pelosi’s head hammered in his home
You did see a President and Senators laugh at the violence which caused the pain
You did see Ruby and Shea run out of town with the same old process
You did see the slow motion still life death of George Floyd under the straining knee of another violent white cop, because
The coup d’etat was televised

30 Rock and Schitt’s Creek
suddenly feel relevant as the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres
Hat jokes about generational poverty and charming rednecks
and whether David gets down with Dick or with Jane or maybe even both
and old men even care because
trans people are in the sunshine forging a better day and
the coup d’etat was televised

The coup d’etat was brought to you by Carvana.com
who wants you to get the right price for your vehicle,
and they make it easy
The coup d’etat will help you sell your car
The coup d’etat will give you sex appeal
The coup d’etat will make you appear thinner and lift your bust
The coup d’etat will provide you with the recommended daily requirements, leaf-free gutters with  a limited warranty, and a virtual catalog of open and honest women who are sick of the drama and ready to chat right now, because

The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was televised 
The coup d’etat will be right back after a message about your looks, how they could be improved; a message about your gut, how it could be improved; a message about your sleep, how it could be improved; a message about your kids, how they could be improved; and a message starring CGI-crafted geckos and talking puppy dogs, animated cleansers that aren’t harsh on your appliances, because
The coup d’etat was televised

The coup d’etat was televised
You did see Trump feed the fire he had set ablaze, A COWARD, he tweeted,
and his MAGA crowd stood a gallows and yelled Pence’s name
You did see them swarm and storm and rage,
you did hear their vengeful refrain, because
the coup d’etat was televised

The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat will put you in the back seat
where you can watch reruns and you can binge entire series all day and all night long, because
The coup d’etat was televised
The coup d’etat was televised
The revolution will have to wait, friends, because
The coup d’etat was televised