poem

What Passes For News

What news? Pirates cut

deals, madmen bury

bombs, pols crave love,

princes rob paupers,

gods rain fire, men rape

hamlets, mothers bear

children, lost children

stare, kings rob princes,

mobs sacrifice scapegoats,

kings reward mobs, madmen

pitch plans, gods feed masses,

pirates trade inside, dupes

devour trash, all want more,

pols reap treasure,

pirates garner power, gods

crush minions, pols sell

books, zealots starve towns,

pundits rape facts, madmen

coopt God, gods starve many,

mothers weep buckets,

children lose innocence, pols

lie smiling, voters cast blindly,

Believers rain fire, paupers

garner blame, fools covet

baubles, Others stand

accused, thieves invoke God.

News? Only

human nature played

out on a sublime stage.