Friday, January 12, 2007

THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER BUSH'S "NEW PLAN FOR IRAQ" SPEECH

by Alan Catlin


Weekly peace
vigil

given new
impetus

by his words

protest signs
say:

Bringing the troops
home means saving
lives more troops
means more lives
lost

Stop the lies

Christ was no
killer

Pickup truck slows
at corner to engage
people for peace
in meaningful dialogue

says,

"Go fuck yourself"

Sums up the latest
presidential speech

foreign policy
objective

in one short phrase


Alan Catlin's latest chapbook is a long poem, "Thou Shalt Not Kill", an updating of Rexroth's seminal poem of the same name. Whereas Rexroth riffs on the abuses of the Eisenhower adminstration, the update observes abuses of power in the current administration with particular attention to the cynical, criminal behavior towards the Katrina hurricane victims. One year later, the victims are not forgotten. No matter how many candles the Bushes light, the appalling lack of humanity and the blatant hypocrisy of the folks in charge is as apparent as the disenfranchised, the homeless, and the poverty stricken people of the Gulf states.