after the fireworks have ended...

after all the speeches

the sousa marches

ice cream and parades

after all the self-adoration

and praise

after all this talk

about how the west was won

the glories of war

freedom

and the sacrifices of our "brave" and fallen

after the picnics have ended

after the piles of beer cans have grown

after the flies and maggots

buzz and squirm

after today's celebrations

become yesterday's news...

yellowed and crumpled

piled high for the trash

the pounding heads of reality

the sobering truths blister through;

2600 killed

and 18,000 maimed

50,000 Iraquis dead and gone

genocides in africa

covert wars in south america

(off the radar screen and newsprint)

poverty in our cities

and tax cuts for the rich

and you have the nerve to tell me

to "love it or leave it"...

prompting my polite response

"it's my patriotic duty to stay and fight

if for no other reason

than to piss you off

and bare witness to this

hegemonic decline"

-dunne
copyright 2006