What he really is
Is a middle-aged guy
Wearing camo,
Who reads a lot of books
On military history and dreams
What the World would be like
If Hitler had won the war.
He sits in a neighborhood bar,
Hunched over a White Russian,
Watching TV.
Every time he looks
At the screen
Something happens:
Tornadoes slap Tennessee,
Coronavirus erupts in China,
Trump opens his mouth.
He nods sagely
And sips his drink
As these disasters occur
In real time.
Even as he stares
At his now empty glass
And wonders whether
He should order another,
His mind Googles
A list of the living,
And each name
It clicks on
Represents a life extinguished.
This is hard work, he thinks,
Yes, I’ll have one more–
I’ve earned it.