If Oz Became Modern Day America

Illustrator John R. Nell, “Emerald City of Oz”

If you’re feeling depressed by the state of the world these days, here’s a poem that will—well, not exactly cheer you up—but at least provide you with some comic relief. Lincoln, when asked about his laughter during the dark days of the Civil War, explained that he laughed in order to keep from crying, so maybe this poem can serve the same purpose for you.

It was written by my father towards the end of his life. He despaired over the fact that the 1% has monopolized most of the economic recovery following the 2008 crash; that the religious right is successfully closing down Planned Parenthood clinics throughout Red State America; that the U. S. is increasingly turn to drone attacks in its foreign policy; that Congress as a whole is unable to stand up against the National Rifle Association, even as the organization becomes more and more extreme. The Eagle Forum mentioned in the poem is conservative Phyllis Schlafly’s organization.

As I read my father’s description of what has become of the Land of Oz, I think of how he fell in love with Judy Garland when he saw Wizard of Oz in 1939. He would have been 16 when he experienced “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

In this poem written 70 years later, he describes the Nome King, a character regularly defeated by Dorothy in a number of the Oz sequels, slouching toward the Emerald City, his hour come round at last. Mammon, flanked by winged monkeys wielding assault rifles, appears to be in the ascendent. What’s the matter with Kansas indeed.

The one ray of hope is that the poem appears in a collection of holiday poems supposedly written by Ms. Santa Claus (maiden name Aurora Borealis). In other words, we need a child’s imagination at this darkest time of the year. The fight for optimism, we must remember, has never been easy. The hope expressed by the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Winter Solstice celebrations has always been a long-shot.

I’ll periodically be sharing poems from the collection throughout this holiday season.

Letter from Oz

By Ms. Santa Claus

(aka Aurora Borealis aka Scott Bates)

Well, we made it here–
To the Land of OZ!
But we find to our sorrow
It’s not what it was…

The Wizard is running almost everything now,
But he’s changed from an ally into a wealthy cynic
(His brokerage firm is called The Golden Cow);
Uncle Henry’s closing the Planned Parenthood Clinic.

Glinda the Good is doing her best
To teach her students about terror and decorum
As the born-agin witch rides in from the West
Leading the great dark host of the Eagle Forum.

The Lollipop Kids are running the Missile Defense
And directing the Munchkin Rifle Association;
The Haunted Forest has been cleared for developments;
Auntie Em is packing a Magnum .41.

The Wizard explains that money comes from God.
Dorothy’s drinking with the Winkie Fraternity.
The Cowardly Lion commands the Poppy Squad;
While the Scarecrow, in his brand-new SUV

Tours his extensive and lucrative golf estates.
The Tin Woodman chairs the Old-Growth-Lumber-Committee.
Winged Monkeys with assault guns guard the gates
As the Nome King moves into the Emerald City…

Ho, ho, ho.

From Scott Bates, Letters from the Moon and Other Cool Places (Discovering Oz Press, 2012)