Griper Laureate

“The world is going to hell in a hurry,” writes Charles Simic in his latest outburst. “At my age, I ought to be used to it, but I’m not.”

It’s going to hell because “The innocent get slaughtered and someone makes up excuses.” And because of the thousands held in our prisons. And because we kill innocents out of sheer malice. And because of our amnesia: “For people with long memories, this is not just infuriating but also terrifying.”

For Simic the someones who make up our excuses are almost always conservatives, who say that our main problems are “the laziness of our poor and the insatiable sexual appetite of our women.” You know, those conservatives.

Or any wealthy people. Especially wealthy conservatives.

Hell isn’t out there anymore either. Hell gets stuck in the head: “Portable hell, the kind that can fit comfortably inside your head, despite the vast crowds of the damned and all that fire and smoke, is what you end up with after reading the world news these days.”

You have to hand it to Simic. He gripes beautifully. He knows how to grumble rhythmically with the best of them. He deserves to be our Griper Laureate.