Legacy (poem)

LEGACY

emptiness, my legacy.

Saddam has the answer.
America has the answer.

rebuttal putrefies.
in legacy.

emotions taste vast and
sweet,

trespasser.
spare no expense

Saddam is a crook.
America is a cop.

humanity answers to conflict:
kill. and more killing.

America is a tyrrant.
Saddam is a hero.

nobility is
an omen. the legacy will
corrupt itself:

idols. or ashes.

so, let the Kennedys rest.

but I will not rest.

i will leave no legacy.
i will leave no history.

Saddam you have your page.
America will rip it out.

accident by accident,

on one side, we forget that there are two.
on two sides, we forget that there

is

a world. fellow man: he is the one
squirming beneath your thumb.

in the pool of your urine and
excrement. he spits back.

the war.

the emptiness. and

the human legacy.

Note: Although I actually wrote this poem over ten years ago, its poignancy and relevancy remain. To some it may come across as portentous, but certainly that was not my intention when I wrote it. I do find it somewhat eerily ominous, however, considering what has transpired in Iraq & the Middle East, subsequent to the writing of this poem. In no way have I ever been politically savvy or involved and still remain as such...Rather, this poem was meant to provoke the reader to ponder, as it states, "the human legacy"...The tension between America and Saddam Hussein, at the time, simply provided a specific, relevant example for metaphor to illustrate the dehumanization that takes place when obsession with power and war begin to dominate; and also that we as individuals, whether we acknowledge it, inevitably share responsibility in this legacy--whether it is a positive or negative, active or passive contribution remains the decision of each individual...