ELEVEN
11 11 11
Four WWI bombers flew low over
my house at the 11th hr. of the 11th day
of the 11th month The newspapers rifled
off numbers of dead in the millions at places
like Vimy Ridge +Juno Beach
The bombers were small smaller than the
stealths that fly over at the Air Show Killing
machines have grown since the Great War
These pale yellow planes flew in formation
buzzing ominously heading to a glitzy ceremony
A repairman on the roof across the way dove
down to his hands+knees Maybe he didn’t know
it was Remembrance Day As Halloween decorations
blew in the breeze & the first few Xmas lights blinked
I couldn’t help but think about the 3or4 wars +at least 2
genocides in my lifetime
Later one stray yellow bomber made it’s way to the festivities
as a giant Peregrine eyed me malevolently The repairman now
on his belly crawling over bloody bodies to safety
__
And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes
Riding shotgun in the sky
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust, we are golden
We are caught in the devils bargain
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden
Joni Mitchell Woodstock 1970
November 11, 2013
songanddancegirl 