NVN Monday: LOVE OF THE COMMON MAN (HONEST!)

by Buff Whitman-Bradley

Netanyahu and Trump, the peacemakers of our time... Cartoon by Tjeerd Royaards

*

All we have done
Is take off our fedoras
And baseball caps,
But under our space-age flight helmets.
We’re the same good-hearted
Ordinary Joes
We’ve always been.
 
We were remarkably restrained,
Weren’t we?
We said we’d wait and see
And we did,
For hours and hours.
We gave them the opportunity
To cease and desist
Their opposition
To the war being waged against them
By our little brother
(With, admittedly, a little big-brother supporrt).
They did not stop.
 
We know they have nuclear weapons
With which to destroy us. 
Even though “experts” in the CIA
And other suspect organizations
Tell us this enemy
Has no nuclear WMDs.
We know the “experts”
Are wrong. 
We know 
They are going to use those bombs
Against us.
Honest.
If we do not attack them 
They will attack us.
Honest.
So we have taken
A pre-emptive step.
(Pre-emptive is such 
A multifaceted and useful adjective.)
 
We are sorry most people
And most nations
Misunderstand us,
Accuse us of over-weaning ambiton,
Of wanting to rule the entire planet.
We are merely seeking
To take our rightful place
In the hierarchy 
Atop the world order
Where we will reign with
Wisdom and generrosity
And love of the common man
As long as the common man
Doesn’t get too big for his britches
And think he can fight back.

*

Buff Whitman-Bradley’s latest book is A Friendly Little Tavern Somewhere Near the Pleiades. He podcasts at thirdactpoems.podbean.com .