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CounterPunch

March 18, 2003

Listen Up

by TOM RAWORTH

Why should we listen to Hans Blix
and all those other foreign pricks:
the faggot French who swallow snails
and kiss the cheeks of other males:
the Germans with their Nazi past
and leather pants and cars that last
longer than ours: the ungrateful Chinks
we let make all our clothes; those finks
should back us in whatever task--
we shouldn't even have to ask:
and as for creepy munchkin Putin...
a slimy asshole-- no disputing!?
We saved those Russians from the reds--
they owe support. Those wimpish heads
of tiny states without the power
to have a radio in the shower
should fall in line behind George Bush
and join with him and Blair to push
the sword of truth through Saddam's guts
(no need for any ifs or buts)
we'll even do it without the backing
of UN cowards and their quacking--
remember how we thrashed the Nips
and fried them like potato chips?
God's on our side, he's white and Yankee
he'd drop the bombs, he'd drive a tank: we
know he's stronger than their Allah
as is our righteousness and valor!
We'll clip Mohammed's ears and pecker
And then move on to napalm Mecca.

Tom Raworth is a British poet. His most recent book of poems is Tottering State. He submitted Listen Up to the PoetsfortheWar.org website, hoping to sneak it past the censors. To date, they have not published the poem. However, late word comes that the site's proprietor, Charles Weatherford, has offered him a position as an "organizer" in their movement. Raworth can be reached at: raworth@dial.pipex.com

Yesterday's Features

Gore Vidal
The Erosion of the American Dream (Interview)

Jason Leopold
Rumsfeld and Bush Sr. Opposed 1989 UN Investigation of Saddam for Human Rights Violations

Josh Ruebner
An Open Letter to My Former Dean, Paul Wolfowitz (and Other "Court" Jews)

Mitchel Cohen
The Gulf War 12 Years Later: Why Class Matters

Carlos Fuentes
The Insulting Insinuations of the Bush Regime

Fareed Marjaee
The Road to Jerusalem Goes Through Baghdad

Rick Giombetti
The Savagely Soft Underbelly of the Anti-War Movement: Misquided Faith in the UN

Rich Procter
Rove Memo: How to Launch a War

Ritt Goldstein
Oil War: the Smoking Guns

Website of the Day
Give War a Chance: the Anti-Peace Anthem

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