The President we'll call Philip
he was not able to get up
from reading the works of victories
of men who forced bending of knees
He dreamed of being of their ilk
of fame, glory, honey and milk
first he read the accounts of Troy
Scribbles in dust made by the boy
"Achilles, so brave and so strong
nothing you did was ever wrong.
Such purpose was in your fighting
A shame I only have writing
for I would have loved conversing
with you a man, none were cursing
How truly noble it was for
you, to return corpse of Hector
to his father who was King Priam
not without first making a dime.
You knew how to take all you could
but spared the King's life as you should".
Now he reads of Odysseus
"I wish he had been among us,
an educated wiser man,
Oh I just love all of his plans,
For Rhesus dwelling in white tents
(a symbol which surely had meant,
to show that he held no wealth)
in darkness Greeks would run in stealth
open the tents and move inside,
making sure those sleeping had died.
Odysseus you were clever,
Kill the prophecies forever
You take fate into your own hands
mercy to kill a sleeping man,
so he would not have to suffer
through a way of death much tougher".
Next he reads of the Trojan horse
for which he cries and has remorse
"O Greeks, so valiant and so brave
why oh why this war can't you save?
you've lost Achilles, this I know,
but please oh please, please do not go".
(A note for readers there must be,
Philip reads only partial history,
he skips the parts without action,
The plot he knows just a fraction,
he wants to learn what he should do,
how and why have past been thought through)
"You've fought hard for the past ten years,
Now you give into foolish fears.
Stay the course and continue war,
What the fuck were you fighting for?
To fight, lose and admit defeat?
but why leave a gift at the feet,
of Trojan gates that you despised?
at this I am very surprised".
Skipping ahead Philip did find
something that boggled his great mind,
"The Horse into Troy has been brought!
carrying the Greeks they had fought,
What a marvelous plan indeed
Hot damn I wish I could have seed
The god-like Greeks three days confined,
ambush the city in no time.
Mars must have blessed all of the Greeks
being the god of horses he seeks
to reward men bearing his sign
allowing plots to work out fine
The Greeks won and in such a way
killing all Trojans without delay,
Truly the will of the gods above
smiling down on Greeks they love
The noblest of all victories
men killing every enemy
since all Trojan men had held arms
no moral rule did the Greeks harm,
Mercy they gave to the women,
Grief sorrow and pain were ridden
by a blade so lovingly swung,
so they not see their husbands hung
Mercy to children given too,
with no parents they in days few
would starve, having integrity,
the Greeks took kids in groups of three
slit the throats of two quite nobly,
the last they put into slavery,
how kind it was to let one live,
and repaid by the work he gives,
I need not read on, I know now
Where to gain my glory and how.
A country resources many
So I can steal every penny
Lead a great, glorious attack
What country, Which? Of course Iraq.
A symbol? I need one to show
A ship, a banner, will it glow?
God is on my side I proclaim
I will do this deed using his name
I will be just in this conflict
A quick death to all I inflict
so they don't suffer through the pain
but let them sleep and fight in vain,
victory no matter how late
I use tricks to obliterate".
He throws the book, opens the door,
"I am going to lead you in WAR!!"
Yells at uninterested few
on the table sit books in view,
ones he did not open at all
Anabasis, A War Of Gaul,
Xerxes, Hannibal, lie unread,
not needing to know what they said.