A Poem for Texas Democrats and Jay Pritzker

Illinois is aiding Texas in defending democracy

My Fellow Democracy Defenders,

Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker is helping Texas Democrats fight fascist gerrymandering. Like Joe Biden, Heather Cox Richardson, Jim Acosta, Terry Moran, Zohran Mamdani, Cory Booker, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Mark Carney, and others, they has inspired me to pen a poem.

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Beacon in the Prairie

Beneath the Lone Star’s blazing light,
Where shadows creep through gerrymandered night,
A band of patriots, resolve held tight,
Led by Gene Wu, took a daring flight.

They charted a course through storm and star,
To Illinois’ embrace, near and far,
Where Governor Pritzker, a guardian of right,
Welcomed their cause with a lantern’s light.

“The people’s voice shall not be bent,
Nor maps contorted, democracy spent!”
They declared, their words a thunderous flood,
Defying the storm of self-interest’s flood.

From Austin’s heat to Chicago’s breeze,
They carried the torch of democratic seas—
A quill of justice, a shield of truth,
To safeguard the ballot, protect the youth.

Oh, Prairie State, your soil holds strong
The echoes of Lincoln’s righteous song.
With Pritzker’s hand and Wu’s clear sight,
They forged a dawn from gerrymandered night.

Though critics may scorn their “midnight flight,”
History whispers: “This is the fight—
Not with swords, but with presence denied,
To break the chains of power’s greed.”

So here’s to the exiles, bold and unbowed,
To Illinois’ heart, both humble and proud.
In the clash of maps, in the people’s name,
They lit a beacon no tyrant may tame.

For democracy thrives where courage takes root,
In the brave who flee to defend, not recruit.
And though the war wanes, the battle’s not done,
The Lone Star and Prairie shine as one.

Together they stand—Texans and Illinoisians—
a chorus against the tide of engineered districts.
Their story rises: a testament to one truth,
that freedom travels, unbound, from heart to state.