the anguish of others

for a country
that traded horse-sense
for fantasy––

whose government
pawned judgment for
opportunism––

it must make sense
to swap experience for
ego

& never weep
a tear for wisdom’s
loss

we waste no
respect on our
enemies––

our leaders are too
fascinated
by power
to be
moral

our righteous nation has
excommunicated the minds,
the hearts & the possibility of
humanity for our
adversaries––

we can never
defeat their
souls
& our souls
are too diminished for
us to be
saved

how proudly we
kill––
with such smug
machismo––

so
impressed with
ourselves
we call it
shock & awe––

to kill & to kill & to kill
all the human persons
in our way––

as we sell
anonymous body
bags

amerikans threaten great
terror
but their enemies
are not afraid
to die
and amerikans
are

why are we children
of Kansas or Oklahoma
killing people
in Syria, Afghanistan. Iraq or
Yemen?

the mothers, the families,
the cherubs are
running across borders &
swimming across
seas
just trying to save their only
lives

we reject
them all out of
fear

amerikans are the
gods of war & of
fire––

too obsessed
with the personal lives
on their smart
phones––
to ever hear
the cries
& anguish of
others