copyright © Uri Hertz / Third Rail 2004
Bin Laden performs a cabaret act undercover
with the Mujahadeen chorus line,
Reagan’s CIA-trained freedom fighters,
direct from Afghanistan, back for an encore,
singing "New York, New York" for Islamists worldwide:
If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.
to take on his father’s imperial mantle,
to use the cry of other battles,
to sweep away what’s left of democracy,
to destroy a hidden enemy,
to front for America Inc. on a global scale
based on buying and selling oil
to fuel the war machine.
Citizens, stay alert!
If you notice someone doing anything suspicious,
report him to authorities before he can carry out his plan.
Reagan, drooling in Bel Air,
knew nothing of this nightmare
in the image of a role he had once portrayed
when he played on the international political stage,
but had long since forgotten in the fog of dementia.
The son for the father, parodies of history,
the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.
to listen to a recording of Uri Hertz reciting this poem with pianist Steve Correll, click
on poem title below