by Anne G. Davies
Said President Bush: "We must stay the course.
Insurgents can't rout American force.
Critics may whine, but our mission is blessed
I'm the Decider and I know best."
Then Pentagon brass had a great revelation:
All was not well in this bloodstained nation.
They saw civil life in Iraq imploding
And support for staying the course eroding.
"We're fighting Islamo-fascist thugs
High on martyrdom, the best of drugs,
It's only two weeks 'til the midterm election
Voters are screaming for a course correction.
"This is a mantra you've got to banish
Memories are short, it soon will vanish
We'll find a motto less vainglorious
If, in fact, we're not victorious
We're asking Iraqis to step up to the plate
And take charge of their anarchic state.
And we have a slogan that you can endorse:
'The Iraqi army must stay the course'."
Anne G. Davies is a fund-raising writer by profession and a writer and versifier by avocation. Her work has been published on local and regional papers. She lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.