The Rules Of Engagment As They Apply To A Chicken Little Poem by Ted Sheridan

I awoke this morning to the sound of garbage trucks
lifting the weight of the world over their broad shoulders
as the big motors roared in compliance to the day's demands
the sun peaked from behind the bay's foggy blanket
only to go back to bed and cover its lazy head
until the next alarm would penetrate the chill
and it would be forced to rise and shine
less the world come crashing to an abrupt end
and all the little liberal Chicken Little would shout
in angry denial of the facts......'see we told you so'
after that first morning piss I too go back to bed
stacking my pillows and leaning back with my remote
pressing any button that will provide for me
some gentle distraction without a latest death toll
most people on television are always counting
this and that...how many dead in Iraq....
the Dow is up eight points... the S&P is unchanged
crude oil prices dropped by more than ten percent
Ford lost six billion and they are still counting.....
twenty-four seven of continuous obsessive counting....
to the average person none of this maters much
as long as the bills get paid and the hurricane
stays offshore long enough to hit somewhere else
sure people count their money because you
can't always trust what people give you in change
but in the morning even before I feel the need to drink
all that I require is a little sound at low volume
to ease me into the reality inflicted upon me
by so many variables and the dumb-m-asses of the world
with their constant bickering over taxes and death
it is only then...early in the morning....before the sun....
that I truly am free..... a free man.....freedom
what a meaningless word in today's world of non conformist
and their politically correct death tolls
no wonder suicide seems like an option to some


(2007)