Cudgel

.........Like Afghanistan,

our psychic moonscape

is hostile turf

Are all expository creations

a mindless indulgence

in this sudden age of peril,

luxuries we can shed

like decorative articles

or preening adjectives?

My friend,

we are trapped

in the uninvited territory

of verbs and objects,

missiles and targets,

simple declarative thoughts,

irreversible actions,

unencumbered by nuance

or exploration,

our lives punctuated

by fiery explosions,

the background illumination

of every paragraph,

by inhalational anthrax,

the spectral postmark

that disseminates our fear

and by barbarians in our midst,

hidden grammatical infidels

who destroy the logic

of every sentence,

written or uttered.

…………………….CJLanger……..10/13/01,