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Home Poetry Culture

Poets Susan Jarvis Bryant and James Sale Respond to Mamdani’s Swearing In as NYC Mayor

January 3, 2026
in Culture, Poetry
A A
10
photo of New York City City Hall subway station sign (public domain)

photo of New York City City Hall subway station sign (public domain)

 

The Mayor’s a Maniac

by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The zodiac’s off track.
The Little Bear is lost.
The mayor’s a maniac.
The sacred swords are crossed.

The air is hot with ire.
The masses are aghast.
The smoke is not a liar—
The fire’s spreading fast.

The blazing grapevines scorch
The ever-flapping ear
Of snoopers on the porch.
The numbered days are near.

The streets are slick with slime.
The books are thick with dust.
Enlightenment’s a crime.
There’s no one left to trust.

The globe is out of whack.
The sun is veiled in frost.
The mayor’s a maniac.
The world will count the cost.

 

 

I Saw the Beast

“I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal
wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and
followed after the beast.” —Revelation 13:3

by James Sale

I saw the Beast the other night: him hight
The Mayor of New York! And as I did,
Like in a room where once there shone bright light,
Now dim and dimming, all the shades were hid

And hiding all the terror that’s to be:
Poor synagogues, drained and nerveless in his wake;
With crime so happy on its pointless spree;
All goodness crushed—how limbs bleed and souls break –

For look, he makes his sign—a miracle!
Which means those sap believers who believe
Work up excitement till … it’s hysterical:
Orgasm on the evil they’ll achieve.

Behold—the West about to fall—watch him,
Leading, Megiddo-wise, to Jerusalem.

 

 

 

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Comments 10

  1. Leslie Lippincott Hidley says:
    10 months ago

    Amen

    Reply
  2. Julian D. Woodruff says:
    10 months ago

    Mamdani’s bad, but Gad! still more’s the pity
    one must extend voters of New York City.

    Reply
  3. Brian Yapko says:
    10 months ago

    Susan and James, bless you both for taking on this important and timely subject. These are very frightening times for many who live in New York and who are closely monitoring the developments there. I feel too few recognize the implications of what this man’s election means. History books will wonder at the fact that we didn’t grasp what was happening right before our eyes. People really ought to recognize better when they are under siege.

    Susan, the mayor most certainly is a maniac and the world will indeed bear the cost. Thank you for putting this horror into words which I shall long remember.

    James, you have pinpointed the evil that Mamdani represents — it is the evil of The Beast from Revelation. And your reference to Megiddo is bone-chilling. Megiddo is the Hebrew name of the town. The Anglicized version of this name is Armageddon.

    One last thing about Mamdani’s inauguration. It’s deeply meaningful that he held it underground in a tunnel. All the better to symbolize his support of Hamas monsters who fight from and hide in tunnels.

    But wait, there’s more: when we look at Mamdani’s inaugural we are not looking up to the skies. We are looking down into the caverns below. He arranged this. Screwtape is relevant here. This was clearly Mamdani’s tribute to his hellish father down below.

    Reply
  4. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    10 months ago

    Susan and James, these two trenchant poems are awful reality and insights as to the future cost and the biblical prediction. I am proud of both of you on your stand and core values transmitted so timely and truthfully. These are great additions to the store of world knowledge and to those who see and foresee the coming tragedies that have suddenly approached us like a hurricane on the horizon.

    Reply
  5. ABB says:
    10 months ago

    When you google this guy, every single thing that comes up is just articles from mainstream media outlets praising him to the skies. Not till like page 5 do you find anything even mildly wary.

    Dave Rubin made a funny comment that Mamdani’s plan for NYC is basically the plot of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Funny because spot on.

    Excellent poems, JS and SJB. Among the few sane reflections published.

    Reply
  6. Joseph S. Salemi says:
    10 months ago

    I’m still amazed at how many Jews here in New York actually voted for this Hamas-supporting Communist scumbag. Talk about unconscious suicide-wishes!

    And the same goes for those stupid Israelis who were demonstrating every day in the streets against Netanyahu, when the man was waging a war for Israel’s survival.

    Reply
  7. C.B. Anderson says:
    10 months ago

    There was a time when NYC wasn’t just a city; it was an idea. But now it appears that it has become an idea whose time has come and gone. We’ll see how it goes.

    Reply
  8. Mark Stellinga says:
    10 months ago

    Fear not, Susan & James, someone will set an example of what lies in store for Mamdantichrist, who allegedly won an election that reeks of both Obama’s and Biden’s and countless others. I only wish I could be there to cast the first stone when his day comes — excellent pieces both.

    Reply
  9. Enzo Condello says:
    10 months ago

    Very good profound poems James and Susan

    Reply
  10. Dave Etchel says:
    9 months ago

    Mr Mamdani– a new one on me
    Another great gift from the land of the free
    Is he madder than Trump or dumber than Ford
    More crafty than Clinton — then help us Oh Lord
    Our lot are Bad– can there be worse?
    The whole lot are vermin — some sort of curse
    There to get richer by screwing the grunts
    Professional assholes unprincipled — ( er struggling for a word here, can any poet help)
    Did he know Epstein? Or is he a Saint
    That rare politician unsullied by taint
    Who am I to throw stones with Starmer in charge
    I would welcome a latter day Madam Defarge

    Reply

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