Tonight

How many other poets will write tonight?
As the sky cracks apart
The beating that’s speeding in my heart
How many will compare this
To Armageddon?
To the End of Days?
I for one wish to sit and watch
And keep a gun close by
A hundred million Americans
Sit by their TVs
While twenty million Arabs
Dive for bunkers
And the live color broadcasts
Will deluge us with horror
Yet, somehow, I’m excited
Pumping, thumping, bumping is my heart
Check the window once or twice
Sniff the air, check the batteries
And watch your back
There’s the attack — See the lights!
On marches the night
Who is wrong? Who is right?
And don’t give me your plagiarized speeches
Your long-prepared opinions based only on your opinions
Have you ever heard of an open mind?
Keep your politicking to yourself
And I don’t care which side you’re on
Look out into the world
And open your eyes
Tonight
History has come out of hiding
As bombs provide the lighting
Tonight
Full moon excursions
Annihilate the Persians
While we watch and wait
Some say it’s too late
While others say it’s sin
I say, “Hang on, I’ll grab a pen.”
Did the ground tremor just then?
Or was that just the Midwest wind?
The Texan’s speech came on just now
Explaining what, when and why, but not how
When it begins to end, to wind down
Maybe we’ll have a night on the town
Or maybe we’ll sit and cry
As flag-draped coffins go by
But... nonetheless...
Here it is...
Tonight