We Can't Get No Satisfaction
by Ruth Belchetz
The moon shines bright in the sky,
where she belongs, a free being,
but we must colonize her, because looking is not satisfying.
Mars can be seen on a good night,
but we must send our robots to scratch his soil
and seek signs of "life,"
so that one day soon an American can plant his feet there,
no problem that it's a one-way trip.

The sky, itself, must be filled with satellites that facilitate war,
for a country not satisfied with the present war,
but always planning for future engagements.
Too bad the present enemy doesn't follow conventions.
Let's lock him up and ignore the rules of treatment.

Let's send unending numbers of America's best
to be killed and maimed, to slaughter tens of thousands of civilians
to make them follow our example.
How satisfying to raze the entire country for the whole world to see,
and then rebuild it,
while spending the billions that could keep America great
by making our people happy.

Happiness, not fear.
Security, not anger.
Reaching out, not colonization.
Conservation, not consumption.
Freedom, not control.
© 2005 Ruth Belchetz, used with permission.
Ruth is author of two books of poetry:
"On the Tightrope" Harpswell Road Press, 1993, ISBN 0-9636459-0-0
"Tears" Harpswell Road Press, 2002, ISBN 0-9636459-1-0
Ruth Belchetz lives with her husband Peter in Brunswick, Maine.