Custer's Next Stand

Fort Apache, Baghdad
Custer "going in"
Whack-a-Mole on steroids
Virtue cured by sin

Doin' dumb to dawdle
Stupid acting smart
In the trap for good now
Military art

Mini-skirted booty
Cheerleaders in thrall
"Block that kick!" the girls yell
When we've got the ball

Burger King on bases
Pizza Hut in tow
Mercenary merchants'
Dog-and-pony show

One-trick gag a let-down
Victory not near
Running out the clock now
Marching to the rear

Let's "fan out" and "get 'em"
Let's "go long" on fourth
Strategy by jargon
Going South through North

Making sense to no one
Maybe that's the point
Mystifying madmen
Let us now anoint

Custer's got a plan, though
Always letter "A"
Alphabet so simple
Any one can play

Next time we'll do better
What we've botched before
Southeast Asia, redux
Vietnam once more

Colonize the Muslims!
Crusade in Levant!
Rounding up "dead-enders"
Taking what we want

Israel and us now
Just the two in chains
One the other's patron
One the patron's pains

As in any marriage
Two have plighted troth
Master, slave, and inmates
Adding up to both

Others see a shack-up
Lust outside the law
Married man and mistress
Fighting to a draw

Custer says he "can do"
What he's never done:
Occupy the Muslims
Armed with but a gun

Inconclusive carnage
Wages paid to greed
Custer's followed order
Troops from life has freed

Custer doesn't like it
Now that "it" means death
Still, he says he'll "win" soon
With his dying breath

Michael Murry, "The Misfortune Teller," Copyright © 2007