ain’t nothing new
‘bout
the way
we’re treating vets
after
the
so-called
revolutionary war
our
first civil war
profiteers
thanked vets
by stealing
the land they had
defended
with
their lives
leaving them
penniless
and
homeless
been that way
with profiteers
every since
oh some
people have
stepped up
recently
to help
but
those corporations
and
individuals
who’ve really profited
from
their service
and
lives lost
haven’t done
a damn thing
‘cept to say
thank you for your service
and
congress
only does
what they’re
forced to do
so many vets
are right where
the first
patriot soldiers were
with
no place to sleep
no meals to eat
and
no meds to suppress
the nightmares
of
blood and body parts
all they get
is an overdose
of
police
those
desk jockeys
that didn’t see
combat
so
do keep
your sorry ass
thank you for your service
till some
real help
is offered
he had been dead for a couple hours but no one noticed since he often napped in the afternoon in the shade of the war memorial to vietnam vets he claimed that the figures on the memorial were his unit and the one leading the charge was modelled after him lots of folks would just giggle and say sure man that’s you though there was a strong resemblance anyway he said it’s my right to sleep here so no one was really concerned about his long nap could have been up late making the rounds of restaurant bins last night you’d be surprised by what they throw out so he may have been feeling like a stuffed cat needing to sleep more than usual so no one was concerned until the police showed up in the park along with a contingency of border patrol agents making one of their routine round up the mexicans and vagrants strategic operations it was then when his friends got concerned he didn’t respond when pushed by an officer of the law he just laid there motionless someone said he got buried in one of those national cemeteries
pastors of god’s new light support mr trump and his disciple senators his disciples are capturing people taking them to the church of blind obedience and massacring them during animated religious rituals in the senate their dismembered bodies can be found along the border on battlefields on city streets or in veterans’ hospitals though some concerned citizens have become alarmed the blood still flows unabated so far the only shields offered have been words like these that have yet to stop one child from dying with no parent to ease their passing
empty champagne bottles in the bin new beginnings for some for others the nightmares continue during evening festivities few found the fireworks frightening except for that old man under the highway bridge who always wears worn army fatigues when the sky roared last night he scurried into the soggy culvert at the base of the hill dragging his sleeping bag as if it were the body of a wounded comrade a comrade he refused to leave to die alone in the morning as i drove home from the party i saw him again covered in mud carefully surveying the terrain before repositioning himself and friend beneath the bridge to continue life’s battle
seeing the brown bag prophet delivering bags of food embossed with the traditional commercial image of santa claus to vets living in the city’s homeless containment camp i decided to poke a little fun at him i said you know the real santa must be black in order to be so invisible in our society he quickly responded that if santa was black he’d be shot on the first roof he landed on or imprisoned for christmas cookie and milk theft the prophet then said but i do like your spirit posting a rare smile he added although it’s like snow in the desert i wish for a year of peace he did an about-face and returned to his task
Read Between the Minds 