Song of the Modern Day Troubadour

I sing the song of Sherman Tanks,

Of attacks of flu and pleurisy,

Of cancer cures and union dues,

Of atomic subs and the Arctic sea.

Oh, say can’t you see

The fallout each dawn?

The bombs bursting in air?

Crabgrass in the lawn?

Tramp, tramp, tramp,

The machines are stamping

Out the bills. Income tax.

Put the people on the racks

In neat stacks.

I sing the song of subway trains,

Landlords in slums and racial strife,

Of medical quacks and obsolescence,

Humanity electrocuting a life.

Oh, say can’t you hear

The old ladies curse?

The bombs bursting in air,

Booming death light verse?

Tramp, tramp, tramp,

The machines are stamping

Out the work and the fun.

Who needs people? No one. My

Song is done. 

Dieings

In the gutter gushes begrimed water,

Fusing with blood.

A trough, turning flowing red

Churning with the current in narrow streaks.

The alley the channel coursed from was dark.

A moaning came groaning from the black.

Something moved slowly along the curbing,

Motion disturbing trashcans caused their spilling.

A patrolman was checking store doors.

He heard a banging clanging from the alley.

The toe of his boot tickled the blood,

It sniggered at his cuffs following the trench.

It was not quiet deep in the darkness.

The officer blundered in, bludgeon ready.

He stumbled, fumbled over a failing body.

Striking a match, the patrolman saw a sallow young son,

His jacket torn and darkly wet.

There was a blade impaled in his stomach.

The life in the trough springs from the boy.

Shaking his head, the protector bent over the lad.

From the soundless night came a sound.

Somebody had struck down the enforcement,

A gang of shadows stomped the cop.

Blood coalesces in the sewer, the policeman dies.

The city is indignant for almost a week.

Illustration: source unknown

Geography Question for Anyone Still Able to Remember the Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical Called "The King and I"

Siam,

Siam,

What are you doing in

Thailand?

Something in Common Even if Their Alphabet is Upside Down and Backwards

Слова матери,

как слово

брат,

звуки похожи на английском языке

и на русском языке.

(The word mother,

like the word

brother,

sounds alike in English

and in Russian.)