All So Easy

by Daniel S. Irwin

It was just like they
Said in basic training,
You squeeze the trigger
And another head
Blasts apart like
Earth exploding in
A science fiction movie.
The top half of
The toasted driver
In a burnt out truck
Falls when you
Open the door.
The inner core
Of still raw sinew
Makes the hanging
Upper torso
Bounce like
A bungee jumper
At the end of
His freefall.
Finding
Mutilated bodies of
Less than lucky
Comrades
Makes it all so easy.
Compassion
Is limited to
Searching the dead
For those harsh
Foreign cigarettes
'Cause you finished
Your last butt
Two days ago.

Bringin' Home the Bacon

by Daniel S. Irwin

"Oh Lord, help me!"
Cried Big Jim.
"I think there's a pig
Up my ass!"
Well, no, not really.
It was just a dream.
Where the Hell
It came from
Jim got no idea.
But there he was,
Eyes poppin' open
In the dead of night
Callin' for relief from
His cell at the
'Country club' prison.
"Help me Jeez-zas!
Help me Jeez-zas!"
Yup, talkin' whole hog.
Oink, oink, mo'fucka.
Could it be Jim's slipped
Beyond insane into crazy?
Could it be he should
Cut back on the bacon?
Could he be tormented by
White collar crime and
The unexpected loss of his
CEO golden parachute?
Or was he just fortunate
That there were no
Elephants in his dream?