|
Squirrel
Anthony Phillips
I saw a squirrel lying in a ditch beneath a great elm tree
Grey and weak
His tiny eyes revealed the secret of this vigil strange and free
Hour after hour he pursued
Weaker and weaker you grew
Squirrel, friend
I see you lying and there's nothing I can do to bring you back
Grey and weak
Your tiny eyes don't understand the strangeness of this pain you feel
All through the night you will lie
Each moment death's hour draws nigh
Silently
Your hooded brothers lay you down to sleep forever into time
Peace, at last
Has come upon you as a Mother's fading whispers to her child
Hour after hour I pursued
Though you are gone I will still remember you
__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.
|