The savages are right now double parked in front of the World Bank
They are at the salon getting their manicures
Standing in line at the movies while talking on their cell phone
Pondering which credit card to use to pay for dinner
The savages wade through racks at the local Macy’s
They send their offspring to private schools
Cypher through the New York Times during breakfast
Take lots a digital photos as they graze along "private" beaches
Mechanical carrots are dangled above their heads
The savages are pawing at them curiously
They are stuffing their mammoth nests with carbon copy
Furniture plucked from mail order catalogs
The savages stow away in offices to play cute little games
Sorting files and giving power point presentations
Weighing the pros and cons of hedge fund investments
The beast with the largest off shore account is declared alpha male
The savages pore over mirrors in awe
Wearing strange apparel adorned with corporate emblems
They spend hours staring at walls of light like gnats to a candle
Gather for press conferences announcing the new tabloid scandal
The savages like to color code their allies and enemies
And they have been known to practice cannibalism
Goading their own into metropolitan pig pens
Feasting on the weakest of their denomination
So barbaric they do not share provisions with the greater tribe
So primeval they postulate significance to their charade
So vulgar they claim parcels of Earth like an infant with a rattle
So uncouth they assume others should clean up their mess
Passively brutal
Politely ruthless
Eloquently callous
Elegantly ignoble
Please do not let their expensive attire
And good manners deceive you
These mongrel creatures are solipsistic
Felonious antagonistic and extremely venomous
The Savages
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 Musings:
Love those mechanical carrots...
Major Frank Albertine (Mrs.)
I love this poem! I wish I could share it with all my students but I'd probably get fired. :)
It would be perfect for my postcolonial class, but I think it would make some of 'em pretty angry, but that's the point, no?
Yay! She likes it.As you can guess,it is inspired by the recent postcolinal discussions at home, and also a response to Teddy Roosevelt once calling my Puerto Rican peoples "savages." To paraphrase, he said something to the effect of: We will never make the savages of Puerto Rico citizens unless they learn to civilize themselves and learn the English language. Of course, they later changed this attitude when they needed more bodies to go die in World War 1, at which point they most hapily made the "savage" Puerto Ricans citizens while handing them a rifle and a uniform.
Post a Comment