David W. McFadden: A Very Calm Demeanour

For John Lennon's 61's birthday Oct. 9/01

It's always good to be prepared for death
             because of course it could happen any time-
                           the Dalai Lama instructs us how the live
                                         as if we're shadowed by a sniper -
                           but with gangs of terrorists bombing the U.S.A.
                                         and Americans firebombing the Afghanis
                           with pneumonic plague breaking out in India
                                         and maybe China and Vietnam as well
                           traveling the airlines in the same way
                                         as bubonic rats get around on ships
                           and civil wars raging through Africa
             where everybody who's anybody's a refugee
or an orphan of refugees or of AIDS
             a very calm demeanour is required.

Le Devoir dit nous sommes tous américains
             and Putin says humanity's maturing
                           but as for me I'd prefer to say that I'm
                                         an orphan growing up knowing my mother
                           died of AIDS and not knowing my father at all
                                         except that he's a solider who raped mama
                           while she was trying to flee a bomb attack
                                         or we're starving and a humanitarian box
                           falls from the sky and lands in the danger zone,
                                         there's enough pasta to last a week
                           enough penicillin to prolong a life or two
             and we're crawling towards it and expecting
at any moment to be blown up by a mine
             a very calm demeanour is required.