I Can't See the Bottom of the Pool: A Political Commentary

Ah, look at them all,
Water polo? Swimming around,
Laughing, brotherly elbow-jabbing:
It all looks innocent enough.

See her? The one in the middle?
They say it's taken four decades
For her to claw her way to the middle of it all
And it looks like someone's passed her the ball, finally.

And him? Oh, wow! Was that a friendly jab
In the back I just saw? (Did you see that?)
Certainly--it's all well and good, right?
They're just trying to get ahead, to win the game.

No matter what we see or what goes on,
No one cries "foul." Despite what our vision
Presents to the contrary, everyone seems keen
On disregarding the obvious issues and problems.

"No harm, no foul," that's what they say.
All they're doing all this to make the country great again.
They're standing up for (or on) the people, right?
Thank God! (Somebody needs to!)

And hear the crowds cheering them on?
Rows and rows of people who've no idea
What the rules of the game really are
Sit by the pool, animatedly calling:

"Yes! Yes! We believe you!" They cheer.
"What will you give us for believing you?"
Chime a few. "Why are we sitting here,"
Says one guy, "Why don't we get a chance to play?"

While the polo players swim, the people argue
Amongst each other. And then it gets silent
When they get on their phones and post their
Videos and rants about feeling disrespected and ignored.

The players in the water don't even hear them.
They're in their own game.
The only reason they need the masses is so they can
Camouflage the subterfuge--and hail their votes.

For the full effect, a recorded voice is played
So the onlookers think they are hearing from
The team's major players--when they are not.
(It's all a well-oiled machine, my friend.)

But what this narrator is most concerned about
Is not the disparity between players and masses
Or the utter ignorance and self-absorption of all of the above.
It's the pool itself--why has no one else seemed to notice?

There is no bottom that I can see.
The players swim and swim, and they must now,
For the floor of the pool is no longer there.
They could not stand if they wanted to.