Today's Poem

Draft Poem
from Robert Martens, one of our longtime members

the terrorist, seat belt in
place, attempts to light
the fuse. he fumbles. "oh
shit," he says, as he goes up
in flames. the airline
passengers, somewhat annoyed,
toss him from the plane, and
he runs, flailing, in all
directions. the president,

advisers in place, attempts
to declare war. he fumbles.

"oh shit," he says, as he
goes up in flames. the
advisers, somewhat impatient,
heave him through the gates
of his mansion, and he
runs, flailing, in more
than all directions. the

terrorist and the president
collide somewhere near
the equator. together, they
have set the globe on
fire. the rest of us,
yawning, frazzled, are just
stepping out of bed. we
raise the blinds, we
see the flames, the apocalypse
of stupidity, and the notion that
this may be the end
of the world aggravates
our morning grumpiness.

then came the rains.
she was merciful, her people
wouldn't die today. she
kissed the clouds, water fell
in torrents, her silver hair
rippled and shimmered, she
returned to beautiful sleep.
and came the rains. ceaseless.
the fires long out, and her
compassion limitless, and
the floods began. the
continents drowned. she woke
with a feeling of unease,
was there something she hadn't
turned off, she glanced down
at planet earth, "oh shit,"
she said, and stroked the
clouds, and the rain stopped.

it's too late. we've already
weighed anchor, all of us,
in an ark for a new
time, spiffy, fresh paint,
scrubbed decks, complete with
casino, lounge, and cabin
service. we're drunk
with pleasure. at the
equator we celebrate, toast
the era of flameless
poststupidity. the terrorist
and the president drift
starboard on a raft
of sodden matchsticks.