Lap Dog Kelly

by Kathleen Murphey

General Kelly,

What has become of your honor and your oath to country,

when you’re playing lap dog to a fraud?

You’re showing a yellow belly

when you take up the lying habits of your boss;

soldier of grace to mouthpiece of disgrace.

Do you attack and lie about Representative Wilson

because she’s Black woman of power defending

a Black widow—consciously stoking the flames of

racial tension that your boss continues to flame

by his contradictory remarks in Charlottesville and

his inept response to Maria in Puerto Rico?

You cover for a man like Rob Porter who you call

“a man of true integrity and honor” despite knowing

the FBI was investigating him for domestic abuse—

disgracing any claim you have to either of those qualities

and adding to your own disgrace and reputation for the

trivialization of women from Myeshia Johnson

to Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby.

Does it really take a photograph of Holderness’

battered face to make you take domestic abuse claims seriously?

Or more likely, does the photograph become evidence

you and public can’t ignore, forcing your hand and making

the necessity of Porter gone in “40 minutes”?

Shame on you, General Kelly,

Coach Gregg Popovich said it best:

“We have a pathological liar in the White House: unfit

intellectually, emotionally and psychologically to hold this office

and the whole world knows it, especially those around him every day.

The people who work with this President should be ashamed because

they know it better than anyone just how unfit he is, and yet they

choose to do nothing about it. This is their shame the most of all.”

Lap dog Kelly, your reputation as yellow as your belly,

your honor just a bunch of jelly,

shame on you, General Kelly.

* * * * *

Kathleen Murphey is an associate professor of English at Community College of Philadelphia.  Recently, she has been writing fiction (both short stories and poetry) on women’s and social justice issues.  To learn more about her work, see www.kathleenmurphey.com.