Two-Headed Viper – A Reverse Poem by Jeff Callaway

Two-Headed Viper – A Reverse Poem

Stanza One – Republicans

Republicans gut the vote, leaving whole towns voiceless,
stacking the game so power stays in their hands.
Promises to the worker vanish by morning,
union halls turned into hollow museums.
They preach freedom while signing the leash contract,
handshakes with oil men worth more than the ocean.
Wars dressed as patriotism drain the treasury dry,
bombs traded for bread in a land of empty tables.
Fear is their altar, division their hymn,
they weaponize identity to keep us apart.
Trickle-down scraps thrown from the banquet of kings,
while safety nets are slit in the dead of night.
Civil rights ground to dust beneath polished shoes,
spies and censors wearing the mask of “protection.”
A viper smiles from both sides of the aisle.
The Democratic Party hides the same fangs.

Stanza Two – Democratic Party

The Democratic Party hides the same fangs.
A viper smiles from both sides of the aisle.
Spies and censors wearing the mask of “protection.”
Civil rights ground to dust beneath polished shoes.
While safety nets are slit in the dead of night,
trickle-down scraps thrown from the banquet of kings.
They weaponize identity to keep us apart.
Fear is their altar, division their hymn.
Bombs traded for bread in a land of empty tables,
wars dressed as patriotism drain the treasury dry.
Handshakes with oil men worth more than the ocean,
they preach freedom while signing the leash contract.
Union halls turned into hollow museums,
promises to the worker vanish by morning.
Stacking the game so power stays in their hands,
Republicans gut the vote, leaving whole towns voiceless.


Jeff Callaway

© 2025 Texas Outlaw Press



PS Now it works three ways:

As a true reverse poem for the poetry-savvy crowd.

As two separate stanzas so every reader gets both attacks without mental gymnastics.

As a performance piece where you can read it straight down, then jump to stanza two and read that straight down — the audience still gets the mirror effect without even knowing the trick.

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