Little green men arrive,
looking like seasick 98-pound weaklings.
Some frat boys decide to have fun by putting one in a dog crate
and pouring beer on him to see if he melts or something.
They piss on him too (used beer! ha!)
and then roll him--still in the crate! too good!--down the apartment stairs
and into the swimming pool.
Finally, they pose, with boozy grins,
holding the drowned spaceman's head up like great white hunters on safari
while somebody posts it on YouTube.
When the Mother Ship arrives
(Who's your daddy now?)
the things that are done to the frat boys by the "rampaging inhuman monsters"
are fodder for outraged talking heads the next morning across the land.
Why did they commit such unspeakable cruelties?
The answer is just like always.
Because they could, boys. Because they could.
_______
for the mini-challenge.
I'm back in blog-land and you are one of the first I've read... :) Feels good. Those poor innocent boys... or so they will say. But even so, it seems history is made of monsters - and talking heads. We need more heroes... write a poem for me, Shay, about heroes. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAgh. Your poem has a black humor that makes the cruelty even harder to stomach--a lot to go around. Thanks. k.
ReplyDeleteYou really turn that "2o minutes of action" quote by that Stanford swimmer's dad on its head here. Wasn't that just appalling?
ReplyDeleteTaking freedom because you can, that mean streak of humanity is what scares me most... The likening to aliens is so apt.
ReplyDeleteYep. That says it all.
ReplyDeleteGreen lives matter! You code a sixpack of deeps in these 20 minutes, each fraught with ironic wallop. We're not sure who the talking heads are lamenting (nor on which planet), but it doesn't matter, does it? Boys will be cruelty's toys.
ReplyDeleteI was not a good science student, but some of the laws of physics have stuck with me: for every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction... and nothing happens in a vacuum. How well your satirical tale demonstrates these truths.
ReplyDeleteA scary fact. The heartlessness is chilling.
ReplyDeleteA parable with that classic over the top symbolism that hits home like no other--there can be no laughter when a farcical situation is all too literal--it's true what they say, what goes around comes around, and karma is the biggest bitch of them all.
ReplyDeleteI love a good let-the-bullied-rise-up poem. I know what you're getting at, but I'm going in a different direction in how I read it.
ReplyDeleteThese are my favorites:
"looking like seasick 98-pound weaklings" (playing on the "looks can be deceiving" lesson)
"holding the drowned spaceman's head up like great white hunters on safari
while somebody posts it on YouTube"
"When the Mother Ship arrives" (this makes me think of their actual moms coming up to the school to deal with these hooligans; no one fights back more fiercely than mommies)
The title (since I don't know the reference) makes me think you're talking about sexual matters. The tiny aliens make me think of the nerdy kids in school. So unfortunately, this poem reminds me of my daughter's former boyfriend (an autistic boy) who was "jumped and humped" in the locker room during his P.E. class.
Whether it's in school, at home, or on the streets, humans are continually trying to master one another. Boys are more obvious, and physical, about it, while girls are craftier and do it while they smile. But something in us makes us want to feel great about ourselves, and somehow, in our jaded nature, we too often believe we have to stomp on others to get there. Maybe true greatness comes from reducing ourselves and raising (up) others. I think I have a lot of work to do.
Your bit of fiction becomes a powerful metaphor for social injustices.
ReplyDeleteoh, yuck. yuckity, yuck content. thanks for writing the bones
ReplyDeleteYes. Could. And, still can.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of when I heard about some Native Americans--because of having their own nation--being able to charge incredibly high interest rates on home mortgages. And then, when the people couldn't handle the payments, the Native Americans took their homes away.
ReplyDeleteTurnabout IS fair play...
Yeah. And all I can think of is the fing dumbasses that put beer in my goldfish's tank. I adored those fish. They sure could... :(
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's hard not to feel frightened. I love the truth in this - ugly though it may be
ReplyDeleteBut boys will be boys!
ReplyDeleteWhite male privilege is a bitch. My research work in sociology has been about dysfunctional, toxic male socialization. Philip Zimbardo had a great TED Talk about this (The Demise of Guys). Thanks for the poem, la la mosk
ReplyDeleteCould ?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could !
I'm a boy who want to eat snack whole day long !
Don't you want to just slap those boozy grins?
ReplyDelete