She danced away the afternoon

With men who, in another life,

Might land a spacecraft on the moon.

 

The world was simple then. A slew

Of tranquillised delights calmed nerves.

Our cares were solvable, and few.

 

Celebrities would saunter past;

Some boy performed his turn. The troops,

Reluctant, waited for the blast,

 

Eyes closed and fingers in their ears.

The wounded crawled, to not disturb

The party, going on for years.

 

With muscles oiled, torso waxed,

She took amusement in her stride,

Among the dead and lightly taxed.

 

And bowed to government’s firm hand,

And bolted doors and tapped bare feet

To tunes of some imagined band.