Three Poems

About war, they say, there is nothing new to refute.
It is as common to drain a swamp, as it is to
redirect it. It is the child’s fib concerning the
broken saucer, and by equal turns, the bald man’s
poorly fitting wig, that may create the holes into
which we can throw our virtues. A man who claims
to be a bear may exhibit bear-like behaviours but
still not be a bear (despite his protestations), or he
may have enough money to persuade squirrels,
mice, deer, and sundry other wildlife that they too
are bears. Two men who claim to be bears may be
so frightening that nobody dares to tell them they
are not bears, or have once been on the roster at
Soldier Field and therefore, technically, they are
indeed bears (and bears who drink beer, no less).