Homeland Security 

O unser verlorenes Paradies. Georg Trakl

Caligula told his troops that seashells
were the great spoils of a conquered ocean,
and for the sake of a sea-born sermon
he tied Rome's ships abreast to make a bridge
to ride the Bay of Naples on horseback.

Our own day is a drought of memory
where our Chieftain sinks the country's future
in the sand.  Someone may find it one day,
puzzled by alibis we left behind
like love letters of sailors drowned at sea.

Jeffrey Alfier

If you've any comments on this poem, Jeffrey Alfier would be pleased to hear from you.