American's peculiar ideas
have conditioned our belief
in strategic bombing,
so our leaders rant righteously
while carrying a smaller stick,
as we substitute technology
for the human element,
which allows us to accept
replacement by machines,
whose caretakers justify
remote destruction.
More from Issue #2
Beaten Down by Gary Beck
The myths of life do not reveal how to endure the intolerable. When the day's affront multiplies insolence, we fold our hands, nod heads in acceptance too beaten to resist, flee to…
Soldier’s Pay by Gary Beck
It is easy to forget casualties of war sitting in comfort far from danger zones. Shortly after World War II the nature of war changed and was no longer considered a national…
Swan Song by Gary Beck
I see too many faces bitter and shriveled by the summer sun, smileless masks of drab routine battered by obligations humming survival’s song, the grating sound of a submerging city.
Drought by Barbara Braverman
There is a drought in the mountains and valleys of my writing room where Santa Ana winds whip through the window and leave dust balls that cower in the corner. My wastebasket…