one thing that is truly unfortunate in our current political environment is that people become so partisan that they are unable to appreciate true artistic accomplishment when created by people from the other side of the political spectrum. a case in point is sarah palin's farewell address last sunday.
mary oliver, watch out. because some of us know the real reason governor palin resigned, and the real nature of the book she's working on.
it's going to be a poetry chapbook.
her farewell address was actually a poetry slam.
so here, over the flip, i've presented three of sarah palin's forthcoming masterworks, "north to the future," "the honor of serving you," and, "we eat therefore we hunt."
NOTE: many of the transcripts i've read try to present the text with punctuation, as if to attempt to mold it into normal sentence structure. well, that's just typical of those east-coast political and media elites, trying to sandbag sarah palin with "structure" and "syntax" and "sense," when it's obvious that she has an artistic ability to create wonderful and evocative wordscapes with her words, the equivalent of jackson pollack with paint, or a swedish chef with salad.
instead, i've reproduced the text in the manner in which it was clearly meant to be read, free verse.
And getting up here I say it
is the best road trip in America
soaring through nature's finest show
Denali
the great one
soaring
under the midnight sun
And then the extremes
In the winter time
it's the frozen road
that is competing with the view
of ice fogged frigid beauty
the cold though
doesn't it split
the Cheechakos
from the Sourdoughs? And then
in the summertime
such extreme summertime
about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter
than just some months ago
than just some months from now
with fireweed blooming
along the frost heaves
and merciless rivers that are rushing
and carving
and reminding us
that here
Mother Nature wins
It is as throughout
all Alaska
that big wild good life teeming along the road
that is
north to the future
— sarah palin, "north to the future" (july 2009)
today is a beautiful day
and today as we swear
in Sean Parnell
no one will be happier
than I
to witness
by God's grace Alaskans
with strength of character advancing
our beloved state
Sean has that
Craig Campbell has that
I remember
on that December day
we took the oath to uphold
our state constitution and it was written right here
in Fairbanks
by very wise pioneers
We shared the vision
for government
that they ground
in that document
Our founders
wrote all political power
is inherent in the people
All government originates
with the people
It's founded upon
their will only
and it's instituted
for the good of the people
as a whole
Their remarkably succinct
words guided us
in all of our efforts
in serving you
and putting you first
and we have done our best
to fulfill promises
that I made on
Alaska Day
2005
when I first asked for
the honor of serving you
— sarah palin, "the honor of serving you" (july 2009)
I promised
that we would manage
our fish
and wildlife
for abundance
and that we would defend the constitution
and we have
though outside special interest groups
they still just
don't get it on this one
Let me tell you
Alaskans really need to stick
together on this
with new leadership
in this area
especially
encouraging new leadership
got to stiffen your spine
to do what's right
for Alaska
when the pressure mounts
because you're going to see anti-hunting
anti-second amendment
circuses
from Hollywood
and here's how they do it
They use these delicate
tiny
very talented celebrity
starlets
they use Alaska
as a fundraising tool for their
anti-second amendment
causes
Stand strong and remind
them patriots
will protect our guaranteed
individual right to bear arms
and by the way
Hollywood needs to know
we eat
therefore we hunt
— sarah palin, “we eat therefore we hunt” (july 2009)