A lot of men and armies stand to take no chances with the prisoner Goddamn them standing there near the bars watch their fingers flex their eyes proud their legs firm their earth this time next year last year a hundred years from now they think it's all ours belongs to us we've got you where we want for nothing any painter can't paint any carpenter can't build any doctor can't cure any man can't say how deep it goes inside to watch to stand dumb in the streets of their cities and know that your head's crummy your feet drip blood that you belly rots your life is shot your days are spent in two-bit flops of them because they get away with murder away with everything we are or ever were come to think of it Goddamn them standing on the cover of our world their heavy boots grinding into our faces their ropes about our necks their guns shut your mouth you bastard where do you live what are you doing here look out look out we don't know anything about that but I'll tell you where we live and what we're doing here tomorrow maybe I'll tell you then I'll tell you when your guard is down when the thing breaks I'll tell you all you want to know come to think of it I'm not too starved to want food not too homeless to want a home not too dumb to answer questions come to think of it it'll take a hell of a lot more than you've got to stop what's going on deep inside us when it starts out when it starts wheels going worlds growing and any man can live on earth when we're through with it. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FLY by BARNABY (BARNABE) GOOGE AT PORT ROYAL by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER ON BEING ASKED FOR A WAR POEM by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS IF I ONLY WAS THE FELLOW by WILL S. ADKIN WOODBINES IN OCTOBER by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES FESTUBERT: THE OLD GERMAN LINE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN A NEW PILGRIMAGE: 5 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT ON W.S. by CHARLES WILLIAM BRODRIBB BRITANNIA'S PASTORALS: BOOK 1. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY TO LORD ZOUCH by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |