The Obligatory 9/11 poem
The Obligatory 9/11 Poem... a few days early
There was a time in american life
When getting lied to was the national past time
We did it for fun
We watched our politicians lie
We watched our mothers lie
We watched our preachers lie
All in the pursuit of the greater good
Or at least a good lay
And when we'd catch 'em we'd say jokingly
"Now don't you piss on my head and tell me it's rainin'"
Then one day a few years ago
Hate slammed into our national psyche
Like a four fingered fist
Burning away forever the pretense of civility
It was a bloodying of our spirit
A message from petulant men
That could have passed by
With mourning to be sure
But also with the vaunted resolve of a people
Who, after running for generations found a home in a new land
And then, we thought, things went back to normal
But the lies had a stink to them now
A way about them
That was not part of the parlance of our past
These were not the lies of our fathers
These were the lies of men with something real to hide
An agenda given form by the unholy
Sanctification of a sigil drawn in blood
A deal made real
Signed at the cross roads of fear and hate
To be etched forever more into the american body politic
No longer do we stand among the tolerant nations of the world
No longer can we call ourselves just
No longer can we look out upon the amber waves of grain
and say God bless this land
Not because god has turned his eye from us
But because our leaders have turned their eyes from god
Seeking a new master
A master born of the dust of five years
Five years of war
And the bones of 3000
3000 Americans civilians dead by bin laden
3000 Americans soldiers dead by Bush
Partners they are then
In the blood of Americans
Because five years ago
When we were asked to stand for what we believed in
We sold it out to fear
We sold it out to hatred
Today we are faced with a choice
Do we remove the white from our flag
Because we can no longer call ourselves pure
Do we remove the blue from our flag
Because we can no longer call ourselves just
Leaving us only with the red
Or do we now
We who see the faults and the wrong
Do we choose do right by those colors
And make our flag, our will, our nation whole again
If 5 years ago taught us anything
It is how easily we are led astray in the face of fear
The next five years must teach us how to find our way
For a house divided
The red
from the white
from the blue
Will surely fail
There was a time in american life
When getting lied to was the national past time
We did it for fun
We watched our politicians lie
We watched our mothers lie
We watched our preachers lie
All in the pursuit of the greater good
Or at least a good lay
And when we'd catch 'em we'd say jokingly
"Now don't you piss on my head and tell me it's rainin'"
Then one day a few years ago
Hate slammed into our national psyche
Like a four fingered fist
Burning away forever the pretense of civility
It was a bloodying of our spirit
A message from petulant men
That could have passed by
With mourning to be sure
But also with the vaunted resolve of a people
Who, after running for generations found a home in a new land
And then, we thought, things went back to normal
But the lies had a stink to them now
A way about them
That was not part of the parlance of our past
These were not the lies of our fathers
These were the lies of men with something real to hide
An agenda given form by the unholy
Sanctification of a sigil drawn in blood
A deal made real
Signed at the cross roads of fear and hate
To be etched forever more into the american body politic
No longer do we stand among the tolerant nations of the world
No longer can we call ourselves just
No longer can we look out upon the amber waves of grain
and say God bless this land
Not because god has turned his eye from us
But because our leaders have turned their eyes from god
Seeking a new master
A master born of the dust of five years
Five years of war
And the bones of 3000
3000 Americans civilians dead by bin laden
3000 Americans soldiers dead by Bush
Partners they are then
In the blood of Americans
Because five years ago
When we were asked to stand for what we believed in
We sold it out to fear
We sold it out to hatred
Today we are faced with a choice
Do we remove the white from our flag
Because we can no longer call ourselves pure
Do we remove the blue from our flag
Because we can no longer call ourselves just
Leaving us only with the red
Or do we now
We who see the faults and the wrong
Do we choose do right by those colors
And make our flag, our will, our nation whole again
If 5 years ago taught us anything
It is how easily we are led astray in the face of fear
The next five years must teach us how to find our way
For a house divided
The red
from the white
from the blue
Will surely fail