Song Birds and Butterflies

Such a long drive 

I'm getting too old for this 

Out to the high desert 

To visit friends

Beautiful

Seeing the backs of the mountains 

Covered in snow 

Looking up from 

The sandy desert floor 

Joshua trees. 

Raise their arms 

To the sky

And we drive by 

The skunk works 

Some sort of place 

Where mysterious things are made

There are war planes and rockets 

Out for display

Spy planes and 

Bomb droppers 

Propped up in the desert 

Looking like sculpture 

Such things 

Having been the livelihood 

Of many of my friends 

And family

This one flew in such and such 

War

How many innocents 

Were killed 

By these 

And what 

I wonder 

Do they have 

Now-

What has been created 

Since ?

The technology 

Is mind numbing-

All a bunch of

Nuts and bolts 

Hurtling through

The atmosphere

Some very brave people

Flew these things 

Some very, very brave pilots

Willing to push "the" button

If they were told to

To unleash the wrath

Of mythical gods 

On the heads of 

Children

And kittens-

Song birds 

And butterflies 

It's an interesting place -

This worlld.