Koko's Earth Control - A Timely Metaphor

Name the Puppy Dog... I see this cartoon from 1934 (during Hitler's rise to power) as a metaphor for the global situation we face today. The little dog represents any one of the multitude of IRRESPONSIBLE leaders, neoconservatives, teabaggers, and CEO's who are endangering all life on this planet.

For instance... the little dog is - Glen Beck while dizzy with power, or Netanyahu starting a war against Iran because Israel is above International law, or Newt Gingrich feeling spurned because we won't accept his supposed genius , or...

Let's put all the selfish, naughty little dogs in timeout - they are not grown up enough to run the world.

War is a game created and played by disconnected children. They need become responsible adults or be forced out.

Kitchen Window Woman

VETERANS DAY 2008 - A POEM

MOTHER AND SON - FROM ONE WAR TO THE NEXT

The stories told in staring eyes,
monotoned during daylight, and
screamed through haunted darkness,
bespoke unimaginable horror.

The anguish inflicted on my generation
warned of a military madness
that feeds upon the newborn.
I bore fear along with my child

Even as my womb cradled and nurtured,
I knew one day they would come.
Drawn by youth, thirsting fresh blood,
they'd come for you those Vampires of War.

Joyful colors clothed your childhood.
Your favorite: purple.
Never the small-sized uniforms that foreshadow dark future.
Cammies aren't meant for kids.

No guns for my son!
No ominous plastic noise makers
pressed to imitate authoritarian threat!
So you pretended sticks into rifles.

Mother songs lullabied hope and peace
while soldiers who'd put down their weapons
and the millions in our streets,
ended the Tonkin-induced war.

Vietnam swept G.I. Joe from toy store shelves.
But the dolly boy resurrected to
trickle down into little boy hands
via Reagan's pipe dream presidency.

You grew while I taught you to value humanity,
to share, to love, to respect.
I showed you how to step into other existences
yet they lurked. Vulture-like. Watching. Waiting,

Ready to stalk when restless and unsure,
You lost your way in school.
Adventure! Money! Manhood! A mere GED away.
You turned your head, and your life.

The truth, with which I'd armed you, once targeted,
was swiftly and effectively neutralized.
You swallowed their bait. They set the hook
and reeled your from my arms.

Fourteen years on, the PTSD hid behind your unfocused stare.
It was your guarded monotone I heard during the day.
And you who faced the dark demons brought by sleepless terror, Alone.
We could not protect you there.

Then you challenged the Vampires of War
by speaking truth to their prey
and turned numerous boys from a war-torn path
your brother among those who walked away.

And now, You've survived the battle within.
Victorious, you win it still every day,
giving each of us who love you
the freedom to finally say...

Welcome Home Son, Welcome Home.

Love you, Mom
November, 2008
___________________________________

I've been working on this poem since September. I began it after the Veterans For Peace Convention while we were visiting family in Michigan. It has taken me two months to complete after many rewrites. I was determined to finish it by Veterans Day because I am sure that it is a story oft repeated.

The story is true and is dedicated to my eldest son, a disabled veteran.

We must replace the Culture of War with a Culture of Peace.

What if they gave a war and nobody came?
KWW