For year when Rahm bids adieu, a rhyming review
And now we arrive at the year’s final curtain The country’s in chaos, the future’s uncertain We bid a farewell to two thousand eighteen With hearts that are shaken by all that we’ve seen.
The news was relentless, a pox and a pall We talked on and on about Trump and The Wall Trump stirred up the havoc he called law and order By vowing to turn back the folks at the border.
He said they’re invaders, a threat to our nation And so he repelled them with forced separation The parents were taken from kids of all ages And some of the kids were corralled in big cages.
“Justice,” we’re told, was the word of the year But, frankly, the word might as well have been “fear”: Fear of the other and fear of the new
Fear of the things our Dear Leader might do.
Fear of more shootings, more madness, more hate From Parkland to Pittsburgh, the fear was so great A fear of the wildfires — poor Paradise, lost — We mourned for the dead, for the lives that were cost.
The president also was growing afraid
Bob Mueller was wrecking the plans that he’d laid Yes, Mueller kept digging, a dog on a bone The president pouted, “Just leave me alone!
“My dealings are lawful and Vlad’s a great guy! “There’s been no collusion, I can’t tell a lie!”
A porn star named Stormy made some people blush With tales of the money Trump paid her to hush.
Still Mueller kept probing, one case at a time And though he has yet to prove Trumpian crime Paul Manafort? Guilty. Mike Cohen? He turned. The president simmered, he tweeted, he burned.
And meanwhile Trump’s Cabinet was hobbled by doubt Jeff Sessions got fired. Rex Tillerson? Out!
The noose slowly tightened, indictment seemed near But Trump wasn’t all that we talked of this year.
We vowed to quit Facebook — it’s stealing, it’s spying! It’s ruled by the Russians! Is Zuckerberg lying? We really must quit it, but, dammit, we can’t Without evil Facebook, how else would we rant?
The stock market vaulted: It’s up! No, it’s down And tariffs and trade wars were talks of the town The land’s highest court got a justice who’s new A win for Brett Kavanaugh, not for #MeToo.
To hear the prez tell it, the cause of each mess Was Schumer, Pelosi and most of the press He banned Jim Acosta, mocked women of color Yet none of it managed to stop Robert Mueller.
And over in Turkey, Khashoggi was killed His body dismembered, his fearless voice stilled His columns offended the Saudi crown prince Who swears he knew nothing about this offense.
Yet not all the news was depressing or bad The sun came up daily, for that we were glad Prince Harry got married to cool Meghan Markle A Northwestern grad with a smile full of sparkle.
A spaceship from NASA flew way out to Mars It took some great photos out there with the stars It sent a recording of how the wind blows And gave some perspective on humankind’s woes.
And here in Chicago, we heard it from Rahm: “I will not be running.” Whoa, that was a bomb. Now half of the city is vying for mayor There’s Toni and Lori — Bill Daley’s a player.
We flirted with Bezos: Oh pick us, dude, please! But Amazon’s courtship was just a big tease. And proving that justice can sometimes prevail A cop was convicted and sent off to jail.
Chicago had waited with long, bated breath
To see if Van Dyke would be cleared of this death The death of Laquan, who was shot 16 times The jury said, “Guilty,” those shots were all crimes.
So now the year’s over — it happened so fast — Let’s bid fond farewell to the people who’ve passed While most were not famous, we share in the grief For all who have left us; their time was too brief.
Goodbye to George Bush and his friend John McCain Goodbye to Aretha, goodbye Chef Bourdain Your deaths gave us reason to pause and reflect And for a shared instant to show some respect.
Now on to the mystery of twenty nineteen Let’s hope we’re less fearful, a little less mean Let’s look back with wisdom, let go of some cares And take consolation: We’ve still got the Bears.