| Monday, May 22th , 2004 9:38 a.m. pdt |
poetry
by Michael F. Nyiri
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copyright 1999-2004 by Michael F. Nyiri ElectricPoetry AllThingsMike |
Monday, May 22th , 2004 9:38 a.m. pdt
"Another Vietnam "
Another Vietnam for America
In the bowels of the birth of existence now
Another excuse for democracy
To roil with the political uncertainties of
All else
Another relative purpose
Proving above all else
That there can never be another way of life
As the way of life is lived in my country
My America
And the America of countless "tired, poor" immigrants
Who have chosen to make this their home as wellAnother event shakes up the complacency
Another trial pointing fingers to inconstencies
False reports, and true reports mixed
As a salad of surrender or salaciousness
No one is right
No one is wrong
All are guilty
And all are innocentWhat right does man have to quarrel?
He has been quarreling since the
Cutting of his umbilical with God.What right does man have to fight?
He has been fighting since he
Was thrown out of the same Garden
Upon the banks of the Tigris
Where his troubles flay at him again.I cannot blame the idea of democracy
For the cataclysms which occur as our
County rightly tries to establish right.I cannot blame the plights of the enemy
At our hands for our seeming insensitivity
In the eyes of the enemy when we still
Seek answers for cataclysms which
Occurred on our own soil not too long ago.I am saddened that the world is at grief
I am saddened by the rabblerousing and the
Death and the tears.I read the news at lunch and almost lose the lunch.
Another Vietnam for America
In the sandy pit of a once proud city
Another faultless perogative in the dirt
Another Watergate of unheeded expectations.All matter of conflict in the world
Stems from ironclad fists procalaiming the right
To cut down their enemies with whom they do not agree.
America, born of a purpose to
Realize humankind's foibles, and to
Recognize the fallible duality of this purpose,
Crafted a Constitution which still stands proud,
And which still offers us, Americans, my brethren,
A chance to quarrel without prejuduce.The right to swing one's arms ends with the face of our brother,
And though we quarrel, and some hit that brother's face
Eventually they will be caught, and punished.
For the great thing about democracy
American democracy,
Is that no matter what happens, no matter what calamity ensues,
The Idea Stands Strong, and the duality of mankind is served.We shall disagree, and the punishable minority shall still kill
But by and large we shall prosper and hold true to the
Established doctrines inherent in our Country's birth.Another Vietnam might cause us pain,
But it was begun, as was the first,
with the Good Intentions of American Democracy,
To smite the enemy, and to gain information,
So that we might stand tall,
And never again see our towers fall
While looking out from our own front porch.
copyright 1999-2004 by Michael F. Nyiri
ElectricPoetry
AllThingsMike