commandment

sundown america, one-six-twenty.
two-eleven, morning, tehran
clutter flutters, shaking down
avenues of blood oath.

vengeance! the echoes cry
voice of thousands
ricochets stone to stone,
sleepless to sleepless, dust to dust.

their commander, soleimani, is dead.
ours, trump, is mad,
eyes wild, master of all
self images on divided screens.

genius! the delusion flies
voice of one
ricochets lobe to lobe,
sleepless to sleepless, dust to dust.

eyes of millions see
– perhaps to die –
sons-of-a-something, both,
dead bodies, dead minds, dead souls.

© 2020 Martin C. Fredricks IV
Photos by AFP

Photo of mourners/protesters in Tehran, Iran, 1-6-20, AFP/Atta Kenare — Photo of mourners/protesters in Tehran, Iran, 1-6-20 – AFP/Atta Kenare via Politico
Reuters – The U.S. assassination of (Qassem) Soleimani in a Jan. 3, 2020, drone attack at Baghdad airport and Tehran’s retaliation by attacking two Iraqi military bases that house U.S. troops brought the United States and Iran close to full-blown conflict.”

Martin C. “Red” Fredricks IV here. I’m husband to an amazing woman who is also my best friend, dad to three outstanding kids, Fargoan (North Dakota, that is), dedicated environmentalist & climate crisis warrior, proud introvert, veteran messaging strategist/copywriter, blogger (https://ivwords.com) nonprofit founder (https://theclimateknights.org/) and big-time reader. As they say, if you're gonna write good stuff, you have to read good stuff. A ginger, too - ergo the "Red" - although some of it's going white. Cinnamon-Sugar, I call it. Tattooed to boot; a dozen so far. At age 55, I'm stilling crankin' AC/DC & Metallica, but now and again I spin some Eric Church, Black Uhuru and Jaya & the Cat, too. I love hanging out with my (much) better half, spending time with our kids, writing, hiking, riding my mountain bike and reading.