There is not much truth to truth these days;
Bough breaks and cradle falls, isn’t that the way of it?
Targets painted on foreheads,
No clue concerning the movement of Special Forces
Or the trajectory of incoming drone missiles.

Baa Baa black sheep have you any wool?

And so it is, we ignore the casualty count,
We disavow the beached porpoises,
Shrug off the thought of chemically seared senses
And the uneasy notion that we are being left here to die
In our own toxic stew.

To the killers, killing is not a matter of discernment.
Indiscriminate annihilation is an act of domination,
Obliteration consciously embraced,
Whether perceived as dabbling in the dark arts
Or a drawing up battle plans for death stars…
This, little more than an afternoon’s diversion
For the privileged few.

The king was in his counting house, counting out his money…

The net cast wide and uncaring, collateral damage,
A conspicuous belch and a loosening of the belt…
Gluttony’s guests, this band of corporate miscreants,
Hidden behind their offshore bank accounts,
Giving us the royal wave as they roll past.
As if a bluer blood could ever rise above the stains.

Little boy blue come blow your horn…

Beneath the dragon’s fiery gaze
The fleeing masses melt in their retreat.
The cheer of legions loyal, loud and robust.
Patriots preferring war to peace.
Theirs a salute to servitude and coerced capitulation.

It must be made clear, everyone must come to understand;
Movie stars, fashion models, and football players
Bring value to this, our mismanaged and morally bankrupt
Excuse for a Motherland.

And thus, the headlines penned,
Play more to silly quotes, than people starving in Sudan,
Or the radiation that continues to leak in Japan,
Or the oil and chemical dispersants that continue
To contaminate the Gulf,
Or the plight of the child soldiers in Kenya,
Or the fact that we are putting
Guns in our own children’s hands,
Or the perpetuation of poverty around the globe,
Or the general unrest
Fueled by rampant acts of greed and political corruption.
These things being far too complex to ever understand.

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after…

Of these things, we hear only whispers and rumors,
Circumstances purposefully overlooked and easily dismissed.
All eyes made starry for the well-to-do.
A plausible deniability, this death behind the media mask.

Only honest, hard-working successful entrepreneurs
To be found in this fictional reality.
Only honest, hard-working successful entrepreneurs
To help us recall the true nature of the ruling class.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul…

In this our present day and time,
We live in a world filled not with news
But with the constant rap of nonsensical nursery rhymes
Like “ring around the rosy,”
A most morbid account made to look, feel, and sound benign;
Telling tunes to play out on the tongues of our
Children’s children,

At least, the ones lucky enough to survive.

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down, my fair Lady…


Michael S. True
6/12/14