North American Dreaming: The Drum Beats On
William Burkholder tells of the terrible drum beats which signal untimely death.
To enter into a world of poems please visit Bills's Web site http://www.freewebs.com/nirvanasgate/index.htm
The drum beats on
King,
Kennedy,
Sirhan something,
Bullets in the brain,
Lying dead on the ground.
And the drum beats on.
Six o-clock news,
And the horrible views,
Of South-East Asia,
And the drum beats on.
Vietnamese mamas,
Lamenting lost children,
And the drum beats on.
The colonnades marching to the eternal flame,
The drummer’s dirge,
The tears of a bugler;
Found in cracked notes of taps.
Flag covered caskets,
Stacked high in holds
Of the C-130's;
Bringing home forgotten,
Un-appreciated heroes,
And the drum beats on.
The drummers dirge,
I wish I could purge,
These visions from my brain,
But the drum beats on.
