Seen through the window
smoking, drinking, womanless,
they are doomed men.

I don’t know what they do in there
or I do: the slap of cards,
the crash of dominoes.

The street has nothing to do with them,
doubly separate.
The flag on the wall has something.

They will probably go home at some point
but they may spend
the rest of their lives here,

earnestly melancholy,
knowing each other.

Good Friday

2 April 1999

It is Good Friday, though maybe not so good
because Serbs are bad.
We re bombing them. We are doing good.

Since few doubt that Nazis were bad
we will compare Serbs to them.
Such comparisons are good.

Our bombing will help the Albanians,
who are good, whereas Serbs are bad and getting badder.
Yet despite precise and powerful good bombs
the Serbs insist on staying bad.

To assist Albanians we bomb their capital.
As humanist good humanitarians
we aid them as much as our budget permits
once they become good refugees.

The bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad
is a long way from Kosovo
but because bridge and river
are used by bad Serbs
we have destroyed it, which is good.

Through its long history Belgrade
was often turned to rubble,
which was sometimes good and sometimes bad.
When our missiles hit it now it s good.

Bad Serbs have seized three good soldiers
and intend to put them on trial.
This looks bad, even for the Serbs.

In Kosovo the situation is bad and getting worse.
Soon we may have to order our men
to die on bad ground
to prove how good we are.

On foreign women

You ask me why I’m attracted to foreign women
and I’ll try to put the matter simply.

Foreign women never ask questions,
they have all the answers.
Foreign women are flexible
because they’re used to invasions,
they’re good in bed because they have
centuries of breeding.

Foreign women have tact.
I’d let a foreign woman poison me.

Foreign women are women
but they have an extra something:
I think it’s their charming accent.

Foreign women are intelligent.
For a foreign woman even a Hollywood film
has sub-titles.

Foreign women, if they have problems,
Have interesting problems
And maintain superiority
Over their psychiatrists.

Foreign women are good travellers.
She’ll put her head on your shoulder.