As part of Congress' observance of St. Patrick's Day on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi read/performed a poem written by U2 frontman Bono — something that's apparently an annual tradition — about Russia's war on Ukraine.
Here's the text of the poem Bono — someone Pelosi said "has always been a very Irish part of our lives" — wrote for Thursday's luncheon.
Oh St. Patrick, he drove out the snakes with his prayers, but that’s not all it takes.
With the smoke symbolizes an evil that arises and hides in your heart as it breaks.
And the evil risen from the darkness that lives in some men, but in sorrow and fear, that’s when saints can appear.
You drive out those old snakes once again, and they struggle for us to be free from the psycho in this human family.
Ireland’s sorrow and pain is now the Ukraine and St. Patrick’s name is now Zelensky.
If art is in the eye of the beholder, then perhaps poetry is in the ear of the listener? Here's Pelosi's...creative, yet unrhythmic, reading of Bono's poem after which she tosses the show to Riverdance — it's just too good.
Speaker Pelosi reads #StPatricksDay poem by Bono, which reads in part:
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2022
"Ireland's sorrow and pain
Is now the Ukraine
And Saint Patrick's name now Zelenskyy."
She then introduces Riverdance. pic.twitter.com/NzPY1VP2bN
Observers will remember that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was introduced for his address to Congress by Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday. In his remarks, Zelenskyy sought additional support from the United States, including a no-fly zone and more anti-aircraft weapons as his country fights for its existence against Putin's bloody invasion that's indiscriminately targeted hospitals, residential districts, and shelters containing children. In the face of Russia's war on Ukraine that President Biden and Secretary Blinken have called war crimes, the best Pelosi could apparently muster was a poem.
"What you saw yesterday was history," Pelosi said of Zelenskyy's address before teasing her performance on Thursday, telling reporters "maybe, you might want to watch."
PELOSI: "I will be reading a poem written by Bono about Ukraine which you might find interesting." pic.twitter.com/6AqHlpsTPP
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 17, 2022
Does she think her performance of Bono's poem was as historic as the wartime President of Ukraine addressing Congress while Russian strikes rain down around him?