WHERE AMERICA WAS

Here, where America was,
we do a little dance
a simple hornpipe
over the scattered remains
of a once proud nation

Yes, here
where bloated pirates
ate raw fish
and surrendered
their innocence
to hypnotised petrol attendants
we feel we are better than no-one

Yep, out here
where the mockery blows wild
the mustangs quiver
and the windswept
raccoons shiver,
we say a prayer
around an imaginary
camp fire
and salute a flock
of unfrozen shaman coming
in from the West

Here, floating in the space
where America once was,
we honey our epithets
with the sweet languor,
the sugary regrets
of senseless
senate hearings
and impromptu bacchanals

Yer darn right.
On this the spot
where the
United States
chewed its calamitous cud,
we break open bottles
of sparkly cider
and shake our
cocktails
in phoney anger

We haven't
bothered to welcome
the dawn,
and we haven't done
any groundwork.
We are quite content to
rely on our natural wit
and innate entrepreneurial skills
as we empty the contents
of the basket
of history
onto the scraggy rug
which covers the site
where America was