Poetry

The Price Tag of Being President

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Exploring the hidden costs of the office

The perks of being President
don’t really compensate
for all the pressures of the job
and choices that you hate.

You choose to let the nation think
that you are quite inept
because it has no knowledge
of top secrets that are kept.

You choose to live a lonely life
apart from friends back home.
You still care very much for them
but time is not your own.

You choose to let your daughters spend
commencement without you
because you know by showing up
the place would be a zoo.

The price you pay to be in charge
is more than what you make.
Could you have known before you ran
the cost would be so great?

Well if not then, you know it now.
Just maybe that explains
why you’re so quick to ask for prayer
and call on Jesus’ name.

Bound for the Beach

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Combing the sand for the secret to a popular diet

We’re South Beach bound (but not for sun).
Our waves of fat are why.
We can’t fit in our bathing suits.
The scale goes much too high.

And so we’re headed for the Beach
just like we used to go
for Scarsdale, Atkins, Jenny Craig
and others we all know.

Will this excursion turn the tide?
Will weight-loss be in store?
Or will this South Beach rendezvous
just leave us like before?

The answer lies in low-carb foods
and shunning processed snacks.
It has to do with nuts and cheese
we’ve stashed inside our packs.

But there is more to losing weight
than saying no to fries.
The Beach is best when we say yes
to daily exercise.

The Naked Truth

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

An intimate look at war and sin

Stripped of clothes and dignity,
naked prisoners on TV
demonstrate how war disrobes
the mind of what it good.

What we see before our eyes
shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Those at war who seek revenge
will do most anything.

Add to that what lurks within
every person born in sin.
We are all quite capable
of doing shameful things.

Sin makes monsters of us all.
War’s a bloody beast-like brawl.
Thanks to both, what’s wrong seems right
and that’s the naked truth.

A National Call to Prayer

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Why ‘God Bless America’ is more than simply a song

Americans, let’s pause today
to seek the Lord and humbly pray.
Let’s ask that those who lead our land
will heed His truth and take a stand.
But first of all let’s bend our knees
and ask the Lord for what He sees.
With honest gaze let’s look within
for motives that give way to sin.
Let’s own our culpability
confessing what we’ve failed to be,
then listen for what God might say
in judgment of the U.S.A.
Let’s beg His mercy and His grace
for godless norms, perverse and base.
Let’s pledge to push for purity
while guarding others’ dignity.
Let’s ask for eyes to see the poor
and hearts that ache for troops at war.
Let’s plead for justice on behalf
of those whose plight makes bullies laugh.
Let’s bow our heads and fold our hands
and ask the Lord to heal our land.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame(Revisited)

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A needed diversion from a non-ending war

O please take me out to the ballgame.
I’m tired of bloodshed and war.
And though it’d be nice if the home team prevails,
I’m not that concerned with the score.

What I need is a break from the headlines.
Nine innings away from Iraq.
Just give me some strike outs and several home runs
before CNN brings me back.

Our bases in Bahgdad and elsewhere
are loaded with B-52s.
And though I am glad that those jets are on base,
I’m weary of watching the news.

Today I’ll choose four other bases
and offensive weapons called bats.
The non-ending toll in both dollars and lives
will give way to some happier stats.