At Little Big Horn in the prairie grass
Custer was known as Yellow Hair alas.
But it was Custer who fell
and Crazy Horse they tell
was from that day on known as Kickin’ Ass!
The Seventh Cavalry on his command
rode into battle severely outmanned.
Now at West Point in his class
they say he finished dead last
but that’s nothin’ compared to his last stand!
Boys made noise
Girls hated curls
Toy soldiers for boys
Real pearls for girls
Boys teased girls
Girls tattle-taled
Moms got angry
Boys went to 'jail'
Confined to their rooms
Revenge boys planned
Girls fairly doomed
By boys outmanned
Life beats him down
Man springs up again
History assures him: Tyranny will triumph
Man outmanned rises up against evil
Diseases plague him endlessly
Eliminate one; two more appear
Tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones
Destroy his homes, his cities, his storehouses
Resolute, he rebuilds them---over and over again...
Cold Steel, Hot Blood
Cold blue steel gleaming in the night,
coldly importuning a hot hand,
death clad in a copper jacket,
innocent flesh and blood outmanned.
Sight lines of anger and rage,
beads drawn on defenseless souls,
whether purposeful or random,
take a disastrous bloody toll.
Since the savage hand of murder
clenched the gun in lieu of the sword,
shots echoing through city canyons,
lay waste all hope of urban accord.
Abraham, Martin and John,
Ronald took a bullet too,
loyal servants of the people
who died in our gun crazy zoo.
Trigger pulls by unhinged souls
stain the breaking news of the day..
A shameful national curse
that won't end with Santa Fe.
Bodies riddled with ammunition
meant to wound, maim and slay
fired from guns so easily bought
thanks to zealots of the NRA.
ONCE WERE KINGS
Pigskin sails past outstretched arms
Another inch perhaps?
Grins on faces kids from afar
Memories made memories lapse
Neither friends nor foe, yet strangely so
They seemed like us but strangely no
A tackle too hard, a tackle too late
We share in victory, we share in hate
We huddle like penguins with nearly a sound
Plays are drawn on hands or ground
Nods are given, all is clear
Our secret safe, our secret sound
The play unfolds, not quite as planned
Defense charge, our line outmanned
Quarterback scrambles, the outcome dim
No fear of defeat nor life and limb
A last chance prayer, Hail Mary by name
Don’t anyone say it’s only a game
Bragging rights pending, youth in their prime
It meant so much to us at the time
Recollection muddied but joy it brings
We meet at ball fields, our kids on swings
Were prayers ever answered?
Does it matter at all?
We were rivals and pals
When we were kings
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