Oh, we failed, brothers
we failed allright
there is not a bit of glory
any one of us here can claim.
Gay or Spartan, agnostic or devout,
the trick is really to
leave most of that out.
The small percentage of cleverness in some of us
is mostly to blame.
We try for an appearance
of gentlemanly exchange,
state pointedly and often
but soften with apostrophe.
Swords touching as measuring of respect,
re-scabbarding goes undetected;
fear behind these covering rituals
remains unacknowledged.
It seems the angle that we lean against is
becoming more obtuse,
from much too casual use
of unqualified reminders
heaving us only illogical soup
to feed this small inquisitive group;
losers who came here hoping we could
make them finders.
On adjacent summer afternoons
we found complacent shade,
let ourselves be lulled almost
eventually to sleep.
We put down the tools of decent men
soul and spirit spent by then,
wondering what else to jettison,
and what to keep.