76% of US
citizens think
we should
depart Iraq
but Dick Cheney
is happy there
or rather here
being the
big cheese
calling the shots
dressing the dog
as Darth Vader
when he should
have been
the Creature
from the Black Lagoon
a real man eater
come to
think of it
unsated by the
bloodied boys
returning vets
self destroyed
in aftermath
and then the tens of
thousands
of Iraqis
who only count
a third
his voracity
being what it is
brown skin
and long suffering
being what
they are
and all those arms and legs
and hearts and minds
shaken and sucked dry
an appetite
for power
boundless as
the blue skies
his snakey wife
the harridan
rolls out for us
on NPR
the teenaged tales of
twirling his baton
in the wide
open spaces
of his ordinary youth
which is getting
rave reviews
on Amazon dot com
she does
not reveal
the time or date
the demon gobbled
up his heart or
when or why
his taste for blood
began because
she's selling
us her quiet beau
the grandpa
sweeheart
humble boy
to camouflage
his foul intent
to sip more blood
and eat more lives
as he prepares
his big machine
to blow Iran
to smithereens
and serve himself
another snack
Photo note: Although a shot of the Creature from the Black Lagoon would have been preferable, it was not to be found in the archives (not for lack of trying) -- so a sneering bald demon will have to suffice. A few red drips at the corner of the sneer would have been useful, if only I could photoshop more skillfully. Shot this summer at a garden supply store. It wasn't a best seller.