Waiting for Hercules

By William Laferriere

it’s long been understood that

there are no atheists in foxholes,

and it follows then, that there

are also no libertarians in crises,

no jokers at a biopsy,

no smiling faces -

telling lies

at a most inopportune time,

no needy pearl clutching

busy body know-it-alls,

no phony sentimentalists,

promising the glow of

natural antiseptics,

micro organisms for use

to dispel

malignancies…

it’s also understood that Cancer

as depicted, an astronomical constellation,

has the likeness of a crab

crushed

under the sandal of Hercules.

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