Duino Hillbilly

I have obtained a photo of JD Vance
in drag while at Yale Law School,
kohl-eyed as Cleopatra, in youth’s crepuscule,
carefreeness in flight from circumstance:
outstripped by ambition, it hardly stood a chance—
changeable as names for Istanbul
and likewise thrice-converted, and a tool
of gaudy emperors, a wavering lance
withering in the heat before the clash,
wondering once if he should flee, just board
the Metro North and find some squalid pad
in Brooklyn, bartend, get high, be short on cash
but not even care, drive a pre-owned Ford
and get a normal life, and not be sad.