Fire

© 1991, The Griot Poet (an oldie)

It came to him quite by accident.
Rocketed from the heavens
On a bolt of lightening,
It hit the branch of a dead tree in an otherwise barren field.

His was a “fools courage” that allowed him to pick it up.

He soon became chieftain.

He used it to drive the Moors from Europe and raze the Holy Lands of the Moslem infidels.

He used it to destroy the Mayas during the Spanish conquest, erasing a once great history.

He used it to conquer the Native Americans and drive them from their rightful lands.

He used it to rape the continent of Africa, siring Mulatto children in the New World.

All the while, masking his noble ambitions as “God’s Will.”

His IS a fools courage.

Now,
The fire is electronic;
Chemical-Biologic;
Thermo-nucleonic
Poised to destroy worlds at a press of a button
To ensure his status as chieftain.

“And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
“With Ate by his side come hot from hell
“Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
“Cry Havoc - and let slip the dogs of war
“That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
“With carrion men groaning for burial.”

Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene I. The end of Mark Anthony’s soliloquy.