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Saturday, February 26, 2005

END MEANS END MEANS END

by James Penha

Even a wrong war can have some positive consequences.
-Christophe Marschall, Der Tagesspiegel

Where Hiroshima had been
Hiroshima is again
producing many products
for everyday use.
-Wistawa Szymborska, "Reality Demands"

Time to assess the positive outcomes
of the war (we of course regret)
for wrong
or right war
must be turned to good
if the brave dead shall
not have died
in vain so
see the consequences:
insurgents on the run;
elections squarely,
fairly run;
oil running through pipelines;
an economy up
and running; and falling
dominoes about to run
in our designated direction,
world: Note our mission
accomplished in the great tradition
of civilization and war,
cruel and sloppy, but watch
the positive prospects now and how
will you doubt
our passionate path to peace
next time.


Editor of The New Verse News, James Penha teaches at the Jakarta International School in Indonesia. Among the most recent of his many published works are an article in NCTE’s ClassroomNotes Plus, fiction in Columbia and The Hiss Quarterly, and poems in Heliotrope, Thema , and at Ligature and PoetryMagazine.com. A volume of his “Greatest Hits” is available from Pudding House as part of its series celebrating the work of small-press poets.