The Big Empty World

Painting by Kristina Pardue


The Big Empty World

what we’ve got now is ergonomic
spiritual brainwashing
leadership dominated by straw men
who exude an ugly miasma
do you think I would rather be
in the toilet bowl in the palace
or give away unscratched lottery tickets

fiefdom is ready to reach us
from the most unexpected donors
abject failure to achieve the stated
rendition of fear-based security
peasants appreciate the recluses
for their caved-in skulls
the words “pure blunder” reference
the CIA’s assassin trainings

it is always a simple matter
to drag people
alienate potential allies
and create a more dangerous world
my advice is this: don’t be a fool
keep the spotlight off little-known
American history

they can claim a propensity
for bankruptcy
and other transparent strategies
when the emperor is dull, drink;
when the emperor is retarded, suicide
purity of leadership includes not
just its ingredients but the practices

tell them they are being attacked
ruthless tactics sow the seeds
of extreme profits
no, cried the people
the much-ignored connection
between greed and war

American soldiers: innocent, strong,
idealistic, real faces
the plastic flower casts a dark shadow
the American-style hobo, homeless person,
survivalist
does he have the capacity to catalyze
social change

he can be a sonofabitch but at least
he’s out there in the puddle
famous photograph of a nine-year old,
running naked, her skin on fire
great cities rise and fall now
strategies of war-making are working
to tip the balance

war diminishes the need
for a good product
an empire fearing an uprising
from the barbarians
hermits are not ignorant of culture
but rather choose the time
an effective method of resistance
and change

to win this war will take a revolution
what is that noise, I ask when the guard
brings my food
wandering as an itinerant preacher
one tactic is to present something
shocking

that was Hermann Goering speaking
at the Nuremberg trials
like heroin poppies in Afghanistan,
the fear-based civilization
is in full bloom
enter the cave and emerge
on the other side in a perfect society
these constructions serve dual roles
of rope burn and bitter pill


Randolph Nesbitt

Posted over on Poets Against The War