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The Un-War

No Rosie the Riveter, pounding away.
No protesters in Wavy Gravy t-shirts
with bobbing white signs and bobbing afros
catching the noon day's sun.
No Paul Revere, shouting
"The British are coming!"
underscored with the kerlock-kerlock of his
horse's hooves.
No Lincoln, legs and top hat.
No leaping draft card flames.
No "Are you now or have you ever been
a member of the Communist Party?"
No FDR, with his thick glinting glasses.
No kids playing duck-and-cover under
Formica desks
giggling and afraid.
(Well, maybe giggling and afraid
but no duck and cover.)
Just the bus stop
and Albertson's Plaza
and a Pop-Tart
and someone says
"You hear we're bombing them now?"

No more Gen-X.
No more flaglessness.
Well, maybe some
but certainly less.

No live war coverage
(Not yet)
Just a grainy green screen
within a screen
with lights that are bombs
that I hope are falling on terrorist camps
or, I mean, I hope, terrorist camps only
or something like that
and firemen
searching through rubble
at what is now Ground Zero
they say over and over.
No twin towers,
Like there were on the Andrea Bocelli concert
they just showed
on PBS.

Somewhere
a Rosie the Riveter
pounds away at  the rubble.
someone says "Are you now or have you
ever been a member of Al-Qaeda?"
and protesters incense the air.

But that's on The Media
with their multiscreens
and graphics and make-up.
There are little things
Here in real-time 3-D.
My girlfriend's choir
Singing a peace concert.
Blood gifts pumping.
Those tiny flags and ribbons
And the front door flags.
Bus stops and busses and websites
Humming with discussion
And those big floodlights
Out by VAFB.

But isn't war supposed to be
In black and white?
Or seventies color?
Or in some browning, yellowing, graying
photograph?

Just saw a local newspaper
From before the 11th.
Had a cover story
About an ostrich.
But then today's
Had a picture
Of a blind guy skydiving
For his birthday.
It was right next to
"America Pounds Afghanistan."

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