are exact and precise,
today’s target a dot
on my computer screen,
the drone I control
a GA MQ-9 Reaper
unseen in the skies
hundreds of miles away.
When I press the red button,
its missiles are released
and, hitting the bulls-eye,
enemy action has ceased.
Another mission completed,
easier than any video game
for nothing ever fires back
and now it’s all over
it’s time for a coffee
an espresso I think
and maybe a snack.
Oh, I understand at times
there’s collateral damage,
innocent blood on our hands,
women, children, civilians,
maimed, dying or dead,
bodies without names
from primitive clans
in barren desert lands,
yet I have found
that since no American
boots are on the ground
the public back home
simply doesn’t care
so we can kill at will,
yes, anyone, anywhere.
My commanders in chief
bear ultimate responsibility,
Bush, Obama, now Trump,
they’re all the same
and it is they, not me,
who should take any blame
for I’m simply following
my orders, don’t you see,
ensuring the safety
of the land of the free.