Malodor

(on efforts of Mayan priests to rid "bad spirits" following Bush's visit
to Iximche sacred archaeological site in Guatemala)

They burn the incense and light the tapers,
They chant and utter prayers,
They ring the bells and purge the smells
That linger on the stairs.

They exorcise where once they exercised,
They gag and hold their breath,
For a walking cadaver has drenched the air
With the putrid pall of Death.

According to Chavez, "political corpse"
And "Mr. Danger" too
Are fit descriptions of W. Bush
And all that is untrue

When America's would-be, son-of-a
Born-again conquistador
Rehearses the Spanish legacy
Of 1524.

So, passing the pails, they scrub the rails,
Inspect and fumigate,
They purify the holy places
Lest demons desecrate.

To ensure the grounds are not defiled,
The detritus is upscooped
By priestly hands with long-handed shovels
Where the imperial eagle pooped.

How far and wide that fowl has defecated,
Foul bird of fiendish bite,
Laid waste, left desolate, and decimated,
Befouling each sacred site.

So soak and steep and sterilize,
With herbs rinse off the stones,
'Till ancestors cease to turn in their graves
At the outrage to their bones.

Mar. 11, 2007