Telling Lies
Listen! ‘Tell me lies about Vietnam’*
And Suez, Korea, Afghanistan,
Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran…
War’s the very worst deliberate scam,
Always a gross act of misdirection,
By which the misdirected lend consent
To their leaders’ malevolent intent:
All, of course, for the good of the nation.
What does victory look like? Much the same
As defeat! Inspired by cupidity,
Or even hubristic stupidity.
To the Lords of Misrule it’s still the Great Game.
The news will be encouraging no doubt;
Appear bare-faced, ‘tell me lies about…’*
D.A.
*From: ‘To Whom It May Concern’
Adrian Mitchell (1968)