Dream Song 130: When I saw my friends covered with blood

John Berryman

Dream Song 130: When I saw my friends covered with blood
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When he saw his friends covered—
With blood dying in Viet Nam for Nixon
He thought this is the end of the dream

Now he’d wake up but that was—
More years ago than he wanted to reckon
The élite group is still running the show
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Why did he never wake up—
When covered with blood seeing all
His fearful friends, shipped in body bags

His nerves got bad with the strain—
Cronkite every night on TV saying
“That’s the way it is & your were there”
What a bunch of incredible bullshit
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He saw himself stretched out—
Along with all the others in the transport
Plane taking them all back home

His blood had all flown away—
Leaving him & his Baby Boomer friends
Dead, crisp, ready to be fed to the dogs
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“élite theorists, in historical and political studies, maintain that all forms of complex social organization inevitably become dominated by a small group, an élite (literally ‘the elect’, or ‘chosen’).” Encyclopedia69.com