The Basic Con
Those who can't find anything to live for,
always invent something to die for.
Then they want the rest of us to
die for it too.
These, and an elite army of thousands,
who do nobody any good at all, but do
great harm to some,
have always collected vast sums from all.
Finally, all this machinery
tries to kill us,
because we won't die for it, too.
Lew Welch
Ring of Bone: Collected Poems 1950-1971
Edited by Donald Allen
Grey Fox Press (Bolinas)
Those who can't find anything to live for,
always invent something to die for.
Then they want the rest of us to
die for it too.
These, and an elite army of thousands,
who do nobody any good at all, but do
great harm to some,
have always collected vast sums from all.
Finally, all this machinery
tries to kill us,
because we won't die for it, too.
Lew Welch
Ring of Bone: Collected Poems 1950-1971
Edited by Donald Allen
Grey Fox Press (Bolinas)
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