New World Order

Yes, Mr. Bush, there is a "new world order"--

the "order" of lovers gently embracing in a sunset

and people smiling at each other without

suspicion or fear of guns, bombs or bullets,

where there are no dictators or policemen,

where there is only one Nation of HUMAN BEINGS,

without flags, without slogans,

without laws and empty rhetoric to defend these

flags and slogans,

Yes, yes, Mr. Bush!

there is indeed a New Order

where there are no boundaries between peoples,

where there are no wimps and no bullies,

where people can express themselves freely and openly

without fear of censorship,

where they don't have to wear gas masks or antiseptic

smiles of TV commercials, where people have a sense of

humour and are not afraid to ask questions,

Yes, yes, Mr. Bush,

the New Order where blacks don't have to act like

whites, where whites don't have to act like blacks,

and everyone is one race--the Human Race!

where there are no crooked politicians, no laws,

no constitutions, no experts with endless lists of

titles and dissertations, where everyone is just as

much an authority as anyone else,

Yes! I agree with you completely, Mr. Bush--

the old world is coming to an end, the time has come

for the Earth to renew itself and give birth to new

flowers and to clean up the oceans, the land and the

air from all the toxic wastes and the dead ideas of the

"old order,"

and it now bursts in the storm of explosions, earthquakes,

hurricanes and tornadoes,

and the rushing waves rage and swallow cities and

beaches, yes, yes!...

I'm talking about the New Order or a rebirth, if you will,

after all the deaths and disasters,

after all the mindless killing over

territorial disputes and religions

in the name of Zeus, Jehovah, Osiris, Allah,

and other deities of all the polytheistic,

monotheistic, pantheistic, atheistic,

Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Zoroastrian,

Judaic, Hindu, or some other esoteric pagan or voodoo

believers and nonbelievers,

It makes no difference any more, Mr. Bush,

not even the oil of the Kuwaitis or the Iraqis or

the Saudis--that too will run out like the billions

of dollars that fill the pockets of kings, emirs,

sheiks, shahs, popes, tycoons, gurus, presidents (yes,

even presidents!) and all the other riffraff that we

still worship,

Their palaces, mosques, cathedrals, churches, mansions,

temples, and mausoleums will turn to rubble, and TV

evangelists will get off the air,

and the common folk will no longer watch television,

for life is too precious to be wasted on television or

on wars over oil prices or lingerie or computers,

Yes, Mr. Bush, there is a "new world order,"

if you take the time to smell the roses, if you take

the time to look at beautiful women instead of spending

all your time in the Oval Office playing war games with

your military advisors, if you take the time to ask

the children if they like ice cream more than MX

missiles or cruise missiles or Scud missiles

or some other toys that the military

likes to play with,

if you and Saddam Hussein take the time to read some

poetry out loud of beautiful Arab maidens who fell in

love with American sailors in the clear starry sky of

the Middle East,

Yes, yes, Mr. Bush!

There is still time to act silly and fill the pages

with laughter and tears, and there is still time to say

"I love you" to a pretty girl who works at a check-out

counter in a supermarket,

for life is too precious for any silly military

manoeuvres--"desert shield," "desert sword," "desert

storm," or whatever,

What about "desert love", Mr. Bush?

Yes, I know, it's just a silly poet speaking, and

I have no plans to run for office or join the military,

and I have no plans whatsoever in this meticulously

organized world of yours or anyone else's,

And I don't want to deliver ponderous speeches or holy

litanies or sing commercial jingles advertising war or

a soft drink or toilet paper,

No, no, Mr. Bush,

I don't even want to give reasons for going or not

going to someone else's insane war,

I don't want to write slogans like NO WAR FOR OIL or

FREE KUWAIT or some other propaganda,

I don't want to convince anyone of anything--

the whole thing is ridiculous anyway!

I just want to write this poem amidst all this

craziness because I don't want to be bombarded by TV

and radio commentaries on some absurd unreality,

when the real people are right next to each other--

lonely, sad and bewildered--

hungry for some human warmth and affection

that television can never satisfy,

Yes, Mr. Bush, there is a "new world order,"

but it will take some time and a lot of tears

before we begin to see it...