A Poetic Invitation: 5 x 5

This morning while the coffee brewed
The Poet read Chris Hedge’s Scheerpost Column on
A courageous paraplegic
Iraqi War veteran and of
His unending struggles w/ excruciating pain, all
Made worse by abusive VA neglect, and of
His decision to pull the plug on his unendurable existence
Then felt I had no further right to complain about
My own incomparably minor pains, but rather
A duty to demand an immediate end to
The war-profiteering that mutilates
So many men, women & children & which
Is a primary top-five contributor
To our current climate disaster—
Ah, but the impossibility of
Altering the course of this Juggernaut
Bent on its windfall profits, planet be damned—
Shut up & eat your bowl of GMO’s—
In the fireplace silence Poet hears the tick-tock of
The little black Westclox® on the mantel and
He recollects the poet’s obligation to weave
A beautiful tapestry from the terror presented—
What pressure might a million poems bring to bear on the
Moloch-War-Machine that’s devouring the future?
For the children, pick up your pen & make the answer

10/5/2022