Bump in the night

Columnist : Albert Paschall

When darkness reigns
And there is no light
‘Tis the time to cower
In fear and fright
And be wary of things
That go bump in the night

On the shores of the Susquehanna
The mighty did prevail
Hiding their ambitions
Behind a transparent veil

Twas in July
And dawn was nigh
A 16% pay raise did stand
Not knowing the fury
That would be unleashed
All across this land

From Erie to Philadelphia
In November
A new broom came
To sweep clean
Nigro’s showing was lame
Newman just about squeaked in

But to the braggadocios
It meant nothing
The people were out of sight
No countenance at all
Was paid to things
That went bump in the night

So it was
It came in May
A rainy election day
The powerful snickered
With checkbooks adorned
Not even thinking of
The electorate’s scorn
For all they spent
With gains that maddened
Their re-election
Wasn’t to happen
Despite all their might
Brightbill and Jubelier
Were victims of
The pay raise that got bumped up
In the middle of the night

Scattered about the Commonwealth
The elite scratched their heads
Their surprise they can’t conceal
Rendell is baffled
Swann’s wings probably won’t heal

How could it be
Such a mystery
That Republicans paid the toll
For spending that is out of control?
For all the pain the GOP suffered
Veon still won it all

Time to lay blame
It will end up at one door
The one that rules
On the Pennsylvania House floor
In the aftermath’s early light
He will likely pay the price
Of the pay raise
That got bumped up
In the middle of the night

Though Republicans seems distant
Out of touch with the loss
So many quit or went down
It was such a terrible cost
But that is the wage
Of performing in the dark
To treat voters’ wishes
As some sort of lark

A diamond studded broom
Just swept through this state
Leaving incredible change in its wake
The hallowed are humbled
The mighty are in fright
From now on
You can be sure
They’ll pay attention
Before they let pay raises
Get bumped up in
The middle of the night