You have to go really far back into the past
to discover the guy who invented War.
It could be it was created by committee
but I bet it was one guy.
It probably had something to do with a woman
but was not the woman’s fault.
His genetic fingerprint traces through the ages
up to present day Oregon
and some Fox Opinion watching militiaman
whose recent ancestors killed Indians
in the American west
on the land he now claims as his forever.
He smokes Marlboro cigarettes
because he has to wage war against his lungs
as well as the local sheriff
and the town’s parking ordinances.
He has thirty-seven outstanding parking tickets
with fines and late penalties over twenty-five hundred dollars.
If he could he would pin the tickets to his chest
like ribboned medals of valor.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 