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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

SAME OLD MOTIFS, SOUNDING OFF AGAIN

by George Salamon


The Washington Post, April 22, 2018


Only old folks and children
Do no harm to the present
By thinking of the future.
In the corridors of power in Washington,
In the bunkers of Pyongyang
They plot our future
For which we'll pay the usual price
In corpses, cripples and orphans,
In poverty, disease and despair.
During our long march of folly
We have rarely allowed history
To become our teacher,
Preferring to gulp the snake oil
Of one ism or another.
Like fireworks on the 4th of July.
Teachable moments soar and sparkle.
And then, in a puff, they are gone.


George Salamon would like to be but does not expect to be surprised by headlines. He lives and writes in St. Louis, MO.