independence day in poetry

after we invade countries after we raze cities
burn their farms and commandeer their wells
start putting in Cinnabons Starbucks and Shells
when they start getting our summer blockbusters
where we heroically fight off alien invasions
how we’ll never let them take our planet
it doesn’t matter their advantages over us
we are heroes and fate will save us and
if fate doesn’t save us our nature will because
you can kill some of us but we’ll never stop
eventually we will figure out a way to win we will be free
we will blow ships in the sky until they rain down like fireworks
because resistance is the best thing and resistance is what heroes do
that’s gotta be something

Arnold or Stallone or Will Smith or whoever
quipping how they’ll never take our land
we’ll outsmart them outlast them out-plan
blow up monuments and decimate
it doesn’t matter we won’t break
when they watch that in Afghanistan
that’s gotta be something

walk out after the movie into the ruined streets
past the wreckage of yesterday’s car bomb
signs in a language from the other side of the world
spelling out rules enforced at the butt of a gun
that’s gotta be something

I wonder if they realize it the whole time
or if they get swept up in the moment
the cruel effective sweep of a narrative
don’t see the complexities of it until later
back out in the blighted city’s night
they are both the Tom Cruise character
but also Tom or someone a lot like him
blew up the local hospital two years ago
that has gotta be something

I wouldn’t want to be the projectionist
looping the film and lighting the lights
I wonder if he needs an escort home
to get there safely around midnight
oh man that’s gotta be something

Last updated May 05, 2016