The Day The Dictator Died

The Day the Dictator Died

by Craig Fishbane

Whose corpse was dangling
from the noose the day
the dictator died?

What carcass lies buried
in the sand, rotting deep
beneath the battlefield?

Will it fertilize
the soil for
blossoming desert roses?

Or will it blight
the landscape with weeds
that strangle germinating crops?

Will the tribes put down
their swords to water
the garden at the gravestone or

will they soak the fields
with blood until a thousand
dictators bloom?