Jack T. Marlowe is a gentleman rogue from Dallas, Texas.
A writer of poetry and fiction, he is also the host of the
"Outlaws of the Spoken Word" open mic.  Jack's online
stomping ground can be found at: www.inkandblood.net

doggerel

trotting 
down the street
fat and happy
down the road
of progress
America's
materialistic tail
wagging
as she goes along

unquestioning
and satisfied
with her dog's life
of corporate table scraps
rolling around in toxic waste
and getting an occasional
pat on the head
from her loving owners
in Washington, D.C.

or at least
that's how it used to be
and everything
was just fine
until those annoying fleas
showed up
hungry for change
biting her on the ass.

that sure got her attention.

America doesn't seem
so happy nowadays.

she used to be
a nice, quiet little pet
but her owners
aren't quite so sure
about the bitch
when she's scratching
and whining all the time

constitutional pedigree
be damned.

now the question
of the moment
reverberates
from the White House
to the dog house:
what's it gonna take? 
a flea dip?
or an old-fashioned
brainwashing?

hear no evil

the sound that you hear--
thunderous, percussive rhythm
in the unseen distance
a portent growing louder
and louder
its source drawing
ever nearer--
that isn't the hoofbeats 
of the apocalypse.

it's the sound of drumbeats--
not tribal drums played
by peaceful villagers
for a sacred ritual dance
but drums of crude oil plied
by cruel barbarians
for the dance of death.

on Capitol Hill and Wall Street
do they feel the tremors?

petroleum dollars
become blood money
as almighty greed
so green
fuels the flow of crimson
in the Middle East
and elsewhere
enabling suicide bombers
hired guns
and other unholy warriors
to sow death and misery

while royal families
and theocratic tyrants live
in the luxury of security
immune from the plague
which they help sustain
and we do our part
every time
we pay at the pump. 

we listen attentively
to each gallon clicking over
but hear no evil

as teeming streets fill
with tension
and apprehension
pregnant with seeds of terror
awaiting more scenes
of carnage, cities prepare
to be devoured
by angry desert sands

while voices cry out
in Arabic, Hebrew, English
and the universal languages
of fear, sorrow, and mercy
all drowned out
by the fury of mortar fire
and explosives, the din
of quasi-religious fanaticism
and political rhetoric, excuses
for genocidal hatred.

heads of state issue protests
and rebuttals
but peace never comes

although oil companies
continue to profit
sheiks and their bank accounts
become bloated, and gas guzzlers
continue speeding
down American highways.

all over the earth
in churches, synagogues
mosques, and temples
millions fervently pray
for peace
many sacrifice their lives
in pursuit of it. 

on earth as it is in heaven
the angels hide their faces in shame
behind blood-spattered wings
and weep. 

Last update : 20-08-2007 17:54

Average user rating

   (0 vote)