In a government built
for and by men and only men
the most honor will be given
to those whose eyes mist over
with bland depravity, the ones
who will square their shoulders
and sigh, "Well, nothing else
to be done here," then send
soldiers and bombers
off to do bloody dirt
they would not do
with their own hands.
With their own hands
they will sign orders
for murder squads, then
go home to families, trot babies
on their knees till bedtime when they will
hand them back to women and go sit
in their dark studies wondering
what will emerge tomorrow morning
from the beige fog
of incremental catastrophe in which
they live and breathe.
They live and breathe
for this distance from their kills
as if they've developed a taste for the news
of how children's bodies were churned
by explosives, how the targets ran screaming,
how the pushpins then were moved
around their maps as a result, their eyes
misting over with bland depravity,
their lust for other lives twisting within them
as they vote, as they argue and deal,
as they campaign, as they square their shoulders
and say, "So much more to be done,
may we have your vote?"
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About Tony Brown
A poet with a history in slam, lots of publications; my personal poetry and a little bit of daily life and opinions. Read the page called "About..." for the details.
View all posts by Tony Brown
Dark Matter 
April 8th, 2021 at 7:19 pm
Reblogged this on Laughter: Carbonated Grace and commented:
Simply awesome expression of feelings and thoughts so uncomfortable most of the time, we simply have to ignore them to stay functional. And the abuses Tony deplores may not apply to everyone, but history and the news indicate they are predominant.
April 8th, 2021 at 7:15 pm
By the way, I get so caught up in your thoughts and the issues, I don’t tell you often enough how amazing your skill at expressing your thoughts and feelings is. This poem in itself is simply awesome literature.
April 8th, 2021 at 7:17 pm
Aw, shucks. Thank you. It was a push, this one was…
April 8th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
PS. But I have found that in politics, the stress and temptations of power corrupt most women and men equally.
April 8th, 2021 at 5:36 pm
Equally? Not sure I agree — and I’m not sure at all that it’s the same kind of corruption.
April 8th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
One of my favorite memories is of an army sergeant who had made it to Staff Sgt. after serving in two wars. He requested a transfer from a cushy staff assignment state side to one in Korea, because all his officers were women and they all cried at staff meetings. I kind of understood, but wondered if all the officers in all the armies cried in meetings, maybe there would be no more wars.