2014 11 – Failing in Afghanistan (poem)

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED FAIL FAIL FAIL AND FAIL AGAIN.

 

They came to Afghanistan

thinking it was cloud-cuckoo-land,

there wasn’t much of a plan,

maybe they should have thought of something

beforehand,

some plan but not as brainless as

Piltdown man,

nor as brainless as

newsman

anchor man,

permatan man

conman

stuntman

bagman

adman

the old hand

the yes-man

the Abominable Snowman

the hired hand

Superman

caveman.

All into a quicksand,

the glove-puppet hand

hand-to-hand or

underhand

sharing contraband

in crash-land

in wasteland

in never-never land

giving the backhand,

offhand,

in dreamland,

all to down

the dollar-a-day man.

Then England,

back to England

with the dead man

the without-a-limb man,

to England-can-take-it land

to anthill land,

still without a plan,

but ravenous

for another land.

 

Wilson John Haire.