If we can’t stop the
bald despotic Putin, can
we at very least
Cut off his coffers? (Yes, that’s
a euphemism.)
Skat@2022
*In the 1980s, a Canadian musician wrote this song. The lyrics popped into my head while composing this tanka.
https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/B-B-Gabor/Nyet-Nyet-Soviet-Soviet-Jewelry
CROSS ROADS
Many roads will cross your path as you wend your way through life—
Sitting in your car; standing at the lights.
Roads have histories you should mind.
Tons of stone have been hauled for cobbly roads,
Hewn from the rock, leaving crags in the face.
Some despot broke backs of men on cold roads
Then buried them beneath without a trace.
Horse-hooves on dirt-roads, settled land against all odds.
Men have marched down millions of roads in the name of liberty—
Taking a stand.
Highways and byways have run to and fro—
Getting us there or leaving our souls at the edge of the road,
Or down in a ditch,
Over a cliff,
Under a bridge.
There are peopled roads of unspeakable provenance—
Corpse-ways—aftermaths.
These are the roads we must learn from the most,
Else all our roads lead nowhere.
Kat Mortensen©2011
Visit Magpie Tales for details on this prompt and to find others who have participated.
3-5-3, 3-7-5 