Psalm L
The proxy war engaged against an image of the King of the North
Which the King of the South gained by assassination of its own head
Of state was brought to a protracted termination with the help
Of growing public opposition, as opined by the least
Of all possible ponderers.
One meaningful swerve encouraging public opposition
Was the publication of an AP photo appearing front-page
Days into the Tet Offensive, in major newspapers, February 1968,
The photo comprising an officer of the army subsumed
By the King of the South aiming his side arm point-blank
To the temple of a soldier in the army of the nation
Suitably convenient for a proxy war by echoing the political
Stance of the King of the North, thus turning the character
Of the war from a weekly tally of the body count in which
The good guys were racking up more points than the bad guys
Into a war of human beings blowing out the brains
Of other human beings for reasons long lost
In the history of the war.
Another meaningful swerve was instigated by a sidestep of the Law
Of the Land of the King of the South when a secret report discovering
The hopelessness of the war had been commissioned by high officials
To a Think Tank of the King of the South only to be leaked to the Media
And featured every evening on television newscast in an exercise
Of free speech, to which a growing number of the people acquiesced
To find their former thoughts sinking to the bottom of the billow
In a big way.
The courage of the head of state of the King of the South
Who had inherited the war was bolstered by public disgust
And the war ended first by agreement January 1973 and de facto
By military might April 1975 and was underlaid by a Cold War
Going dormant in northern collapse of economic strain 1991,
Resumed in proxy by a self-inflicted wound 9/11/2001,
The King of the South manipulating public opinion
To engage a peaceful people pocketed with radicals.
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