Ceremony
I sit in comfort
in the luxurious house
of a former member
of the Afghan government
finally defeated
by the holy warriors
of the true faith.
I watch the CNN news
as the Americans
carry out the coffins
of the Marines who died
in the suicide bombing
near the Kabul airport.
The President Biden
and other officials
military and civilian
watch respectfully
as the solemn Marines
carry the coffins
of their comrades
to the waiting trucks
that will take them
to a place of honored rest,
not like my brothers
who died in battle
and did not need
earthly recognition
for their sacrifice
against infidel invaders,
since they are at peace
in the bosom of Allah.
Down in the Mines
Coal miners lead dangerous lives
going down in the deep hole
where Mother Earth waits
to swallow intruders.
Conditions have slightly improved
from oppressed times
when armed guards kept miners in line,
who were paid in company scrip,
with pay docked for costs of housing,
medical care, tools used in the mines,
while union organizers
were beaten, jailed, assassinated
and families were indebted
to the company store.
When miners resisted
almost indentured servitude
they were fired, blacklisted,
so they couldnt find work
in other mines.
Abuses were intolerable
and the miners protests
were violently put down
by hirelings of the bosses,
whose only concern was profits,
no matter how difficult the lives
of miners and their families,
until tired of endless suffering
the miners fought back.
Mine owners were never fair
and would never share
money earned by laborers
who lived in virtual squalor,
while the bosses lived in mansions
and would never tolerate
defiance to their rules.
But the miners were proud men,
not clerks who would melt away
before armed thugs of the bosses
and fought for their rights
in the era of mine wars,
including a great battle
when thousands of united miners
fought the sheriffs men
in the pay of the bosses,
until the U.S. Army intervened
and stopped the fighting,
with no improvements for the miners,
victims of ruthless capitalists.
Tidal Flow
When I walk on the beach
I see the loneliness
of the Florida surfer,
who waits and waits
for the big wave
that never comes.
Call to Duty
The waiting room is empty.
The doctors and nurses
have departed.
Too tired to party
after treating the ill
for what seemed like
endless hours.
Tears, sweat, vomit, blood
flowed almost endlessly.
And the medical staff
stemmed the flow,
made repairs
as best they could,
got grateful thanks
from the healed,
hopefully went home
satisfied they served
the needs of the people.
Fraying Reason
The line for Covid-19 shots
grows longer and longer.
Teachers rush for vaccinations
to comply with the job mandate.
A small group of loud protestors
try to persuade those waiting
that its a violation
of their constitutional rights
to be compelled to get the shots.
A man tries to convince them
its a health issue, not rights,
but they refuse to listen,
get angry, insult him, threaten,
then attack him violently,
until others intervene
and the protestors run away,
a typical example
of the American way
of problem solving.