mickey mouse's nose

mickey mouse's       nose
opens up a missle nose appears
his voice gets deeper     pointlessly as
one sees sharp teeth
he gets down on all fours
wheels sprout
the voice threatens
the little red pants splotch insignia
everybody salutes

we have spent billions for this
and picnic our children on a hillside to watch
they play with their plastic cartoon characters
there is wind in the trees
the monster below us spins tries to keep up
its wheels seem mudproof
the crowd applauds
this circling






from The Troubles (1993)