an Independence Day parade

the bridge at Remagen

is not in the United States,

but it is a bridge too far,

no matter who you are:

what don't you understand?

it is not in Portland.

never has been

and never will,

no matter who you are

or how many you try to kill

with a hammer or an ice pick,

you prick.

the Super Dooper Looper

is a roller coaster

not a super storm trooper

with kevlar vest and thermal eyes,

a black heart of steel and forked tongue of lies.

so, a grieving mother cries

under your cloud of steaming gas:

she's all the way from the fertile underclass

with an academic degree and dirty nails,

disdainful of your modern jails,

scornful of your belly fat

and your constant bragging about this or that!

if it's not a charade,

it's no longer an Independence Day parade

as far as i can see,

morally and intellectually,

it's a battle for the deepest soul

and everyone has a role.