Fantasy Island Redux: “De pipeline, boss, de pipeline!”

by Maureen Kingston  

a hot load, a hot shot
through the weakest vein

the great plains

where seldom is heard
a discouraging word        

where dissent is drowned out
by the global cash machine

he maketh me to lie down
in green pastures

the pipeline’s well-designed,
the engineers assure

a mighty fortress is our god,
a bulwark never failing

the promise of jobs & safety,
a universal hope or a uniscam?

The Good Life, Nebraska’s motto,

her citizens gracious to the end,
pouring pitcher after pitcher of tar sands