"Why
would I waste my beautiful mind on that?"
Barbara Bush
Nobody wants to look at the body bags
least of all the mother of the 43rd president
we must instead portray our faces
as gracious, not too elegant, composed
in our vast, protean identity,
excellent health care, lovely equality
admirable schools, effective gun control
clean air the purest water in the world
God Almighty is on our side, here is the proof
perfect teeth, dry-cleaned clothes,
all the little details in the plan revealed,
like the weather, day by day, trust me--
the wells in my eyes run rich and deep,
rivers flow from my breasts, I feed
multitudes, in my mouth, the counsel of kings
in the folds of my gown, cities of untold
fortune. Here is my secret: the free-market
economy excites me, I ply the trade,
pumping day and night, rising, falling,
up and down, more and more, our needs
insatiable, the woman from Babylon is not
more famous than I, more revered,
I sup on roasted chicken, white meat,
lightly steamed green beans, fresh fraise
de bois (craving fries) it's a rough
day on the back nine, you have no idea
how hard it is to be rich, grave impositions
of responsibility and power, portray me as
stoic, knowing as I do--what do you call it?
--the truth, that heap of flesh in the dunes
shifting, when I haven't taken my pills
I hear their screams to Allah, civilians clumped
like overripe dates, bruised and sticky,
fly-studded beneath the parched palms
children put up for our collateral,
a new generation of off-road vehicles
the holes in their backs (of course
they were running) confused
with a fashion trend, a spot that won't go
out, it's tough love but we mean business,
a body bag equals the cost of a barrel you know,
--the actual rate this fateful March--
no, we won't waste our beautiful mind
anymore on that doomed flesh,
because if we actually thought about it
we wouldn't do it we know better.
Hawk
True.
>
Classified. As in > Information. Phylum > Chordata. Subphylum
> Vertebrata. Class > Aves. Order > Falconiforms. Family
cousined
> to eagle and vulture
vulgar > predator
sere
yellow beneath the
points > the eyes
prey > the object of pursuit
> to sell
hawk>
gorge,
crop, craw > place the words get stuck
ink
> what a hawk preys upon
glut
> a slimy substance in the panel etymology
> imitative
cawk>
>hawk
> lays its meat
upon the hack
> a dead body
> pellets
disgorged
remnants >
the
beak > crooked
> cawk
>cawk
audible
> junk stuck in the throat again
clap > the nether part of the bill > clear the gorge give rangle
> gravel
brings
down
the subject
>not
a goatsucker
muting > a hawk's dung
> the underside,
metal, filled with mortar
> militancy
mantling > for protection
flags > long feathers
> a fine leather leash
>
bells
>
peddler's bells
>
bewits with bells to button the feet
> a jess to fasten it tight
> attracted
to lures, dummies and fakes
tire
it > give it a leg to pull on
make > an old
staunch hawk
> sets an example for the young
> obedience
> intimidation
> cowering
crab >
internal fighting
petty
singles > its toes
pounces > its claws
mew > a place to sit while molting
>
unstrike the hood and it comes off
> accipiter
> eyas
> the sharp-set hawk is rapacious
> runs its quarry into the ground
> it soars
and sells
>
binds with its prey
> by the throat
> the neck
> pecks the
chest, the pocket
> to
seize
> the word at its root
>raped
> sticks in the throat
haw>
> hungry
"The strength of the Army doesn't lie in numbers,
It lies in you."
Army Recruiting Materials, 2003
Think about it!
Clarinet and keyboard players!
$85,000 in financial incentives!
BE
AN ARTIST
WITHOUT STARVING
stay in shape, keep
on
the cutting
edge
just out of high school
out of
options
(a dirge)
young
Jessica
the arm comes in
in
Palestine
(it,
too, a promised land)
average
income: $14,000
mountains
young Jessica
hometown
West Virginia
(twang)
IT'S
YOUR FUTURE TAKE
get
a sense of real security!
THE NEXT STEP
guaranteed life
insurance: $250,000!
(sound
of a harp)
INTENSE EXPERIENCES
THAT YOU CAN'T
ask
about
the latest
financial offers
AND
WON'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE.
you'll sweat, you'll strain
(trumpet
and clarinet)
5
feet 5 inches tall, 19 years old
BCT,
that's
Army talk for
hit
with
chemical spray
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE ME
BUT
DON'T WORRY--THEY HAVEN'T
EITHER
ambushed
in
the 507th Maintenance Convoy
in
West Virginia, all over
the country
south
of
Nablus
Appalachia
in
Doha
(drum
roll)
mowing
the Iraqis down
YOU
COULD BE ASSIGNED TO AN OVERSEAS DUTY STATION.
HAWAII,
ALASKA, THE
FAR EAST, AND MORE
there
was an accident
hurt
her head, nearly
dead
(clash of cymbals)
On
March 23rd,
Pfc. Jessica Lynch was declared MIA
it
was a hospital
it
was a hospital
she was shot, stabbed and slapped
(I am
an army of one)
no
bullet wounds, no knife wounds
not a hospital
they
called
it a hospital
RELAX
AT THE ARMY'S FINE CLUBS
they
brought her orange
juice, clothes
her ammo gave out
WORK
IN
A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
they
wanted to execute her
they wanted her to keep quiet
LISTEN
TO THE PASSION IN THEIR VOICES WHEN THEY TALK
ABOUT
THE THRILLS OF THE US ARMY ADVENTURE
(pianissimo
forte)
plucked
from behind
SPECIAL OPS PRECISION STRIKES
enemy lines
THIS IS THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME
First
successful
POW rescue since WWII
she has amnesia
she
doesn't
have amnesia
(I
don't have amnesia)
(tuba
solo)
THE
BEST REASONS FOR JOINING THE ARMY
ARE
THE INTANGIBLE ONES
no
Iraqi forces
no
firefight
gun in her hand
the
choices are
confusing--
THERE
ARE NO FREE RIDES HERE
the
rescue is announced on
April 1
let
the
officers help you
April
Fools
it's amnesia
(I don't have amnesia)
let
the officers help you
all the benefits,
PX
education, housing, income, the best career
opportunities
retirement
1,045,690 soldiers
AND
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, ME BECOMES WE
you
how
it
lies in you
SOME
BRAVE SOULS PUT THEIR LIVES
ON
THE LINE TO MAKE THIS
HAPPEN
small
teddy bear in a duffle bag, a rabbit's
foot
(finger snap)
WE EARN IT.
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