Sunday, April 12, 2009

Mary Jane Helrich's "Pentagon 'XX Rated'"

This is from Tim Musser, sharing a poem by his friend, Mary Jane Helrich.

Hi Philip...

This poem is by an old friend of mine [Mary Jane Helrich - now deceased - from The Baltimore area]. She was a member of Pax Christi and a host of other p and j organizations...and she could often be found at the Pentagon looking for General Havoc or Major Disaster to hand over a copy her poem. If she couldn't find someone to hand it to, she would just read it to a tree on the grounds, asking it permission to tape it to the tree. Perhaps you or someone else could read this Friday evening on behalf of all those travelling this weekend to the Pentagon. I gave a copy of it to Mike Ludwig of the Cleveland Chapter of Vets for Peace [who will be on the bus Fri eve.] and he will read it on behalf of the millions of refugees and grieving folks that war produces - and tape it to a tree on the grounds too.

Have a great event!

Tim [Musser]


Pentagon 'XX Rated'

Repent! Begone! O Pentagon
Two-faced and five-sided
Double-dealing, Satan guided
Structure of destruction!
Purports to be for you and me
Defense against the enemy
(Though "Pogo" says we've met them
and they're we)

Behind its bluff the Pentagon
Conceals whet its intent upon.
No merit in its claims
That is deters and it protects
We know despite it's "aims"
That that edifice wrecks!

And General Havoc and Major Disaster
Are hid in that bunker of stone and of plaster
(We trust that since God's not
the One Who has willed it
In vain do they labor,
those builders who build it)

And they plot and they plan
More like devil than man
Bilking civilians of hundreds of billions
And more, ever more, if they can!

And O the woe is to know
The ugliest of facts is
They've built the Biggest Little Warhouse
With our taxes!

Mary Jane Helrich [Baltimore]

4 comments:

Huck Helrich said...

Mary Jane Helrich was my grandmother.

Anonymous said...

Mary Jane was from Northport, NY

Brian D-L said...

I had the privilege of knowing Mary Jane back in the early 1980's on Long Island. Today I was preparing to read some of her poems at an open-mic celebration at our small community college-- a place that so often reminds me of Mary Jane's spirit and commitment; I was thrilled to find this blog entry. I can only imagine the poem she might have written on discovering that she has been 'immortalized in a blog'!!
Brian

Philip Metres said...

Brian, I'm glad to continue her legacy.