“Bullet Points”

  

c. 2026 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(1-26)

 

Bullets in the chamber

A metropolis on the brink

Squandered wealth washed away

Like dish soap down the kitchen sink

I must have seen the king nod out

At least a dozen times

While meetings were met with indifference

Like a clanging of the wind chimes

No one paid much attention

As that naked beast rode by

It caused me to call out in fear

With words that struck a bullseye

But that story went unreported

Not shown on the evening news

This opinion did not mate too well

With the betting line they used

Loyalties rarely linger

They are traded for a curve

Of one side to the other

A slow lane, double-swerve

Whatever turn of fate employed

Sends the gang on a path to fire

In the end, a lonely lead

A headline, soon expired

I thought about this quirky quest

For long enough before

But by the time resolution came

I was already out the door

I quit believing long ago

It was a rite of passage thing

The cracked bell now hangs silently

No longer able to strike and ring

Cast your lots upon the ground

That is what I was told at first

Dice bouncing with fortunes won

On a layer of trodden earth

I wanted to guess wisely

But that privilege took all my breath

So, in the end I plumbed the line

From here to a millennium’s breadth

It burned my cheeks to face the flames

Boldly and in awe

Like a meal of talons and feathers

The crow-meat stuck in my craw

Nothing that I did or said

Changed this odd condition

It left me feeling overlooked

From a beggar’s humble position

Pundits and their preachers

Often feel the need to spar

And if I watch for a sufficient span

There’ll be change left in my tip jar

Obedience is the currency

Of a realm, both rote and rife

Spreading the official word around

As a condiment on the butter knife

It might not satisfy to hear

That the trickster has prospered well

But the duty of a listener

Is to receive what salesmen sell

Therefore, when I want to ask

What happened in the dark

I’ll bite my tongue, tenaciously

And snuff out that foolish spark

The world turns on its axis

And consequence keeps the law

Once I used to be oblivious

Yet not after what I saw

The kick of mules is strong and stern

This I know is true

So, when the ride is over

I’ll go back to flinging horseshoes