Meteor Coverage Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Gaining attention.
An event to give it.
In the news one minute.
And within moments to forget.

A leader arrives.
Expected to express,
Sincere empathy.
To those most affected,
Both emotionally and physically.

Left devastated.
Left to witness,
Loved ones lose their lives.
And quick.

A leader arrives.
To leave disappointed,
About the crowd size.
And complains that those,
Who had been hospitalized.
Were not as hospitable.
Or wished to pose for photo opts.
The leader who leaves,
Most talks about.

"I could not believe it.
They acted as if my presence,
Was no more than a meteor...
Crossing the sky.
And I had been told,
They expected me to show...
More empathy and emotion,
Connected to their anguish.
And suffering they recently experience.
Who is it do they think,
I should for them represent.
Some concerned about their needs.
More than I am to have,
My own ego pleased?
These people have too high,
Of kept deluded expectations! "