A Prophecy of Shakespeare [1] (Sonnet) Like rapists will, having discharged their lust, Displace deadly desire with disgust, So Bush in mission perjured, not to trust, [2] Despises nations he laid low in dust. Past reason hunted then past reason hated, [3] Iraq, the quondam [4] quarry, highly prized, After the addict's appetite is sated, Is left defiled, despoiled, and demonized. That phrase Hemingway coined of fascist planes, "Mechanized doom", [5] once drilled into her seat, Iraq endures a hate-child's labor pains, Now that the fiend's uranium is deplete. So learn this lesson of a war unjust: Lust turns to loathing once the bunker's bust. April 2003 [1]      Sonnet 129 [2]       Sonnet 129:4 [3]      Sonnet 129:6-7 [4]      meaning "former". See William Shakespeare, 'Much Ado About Nothing', V.ii.28 [5]      From 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'