Drone

You’re a brain drain
You go on and on
Like a blood stain.

-Marianne Faithfull, with Tim Hardin

Gotta admit I really loved my job
Taking the steps two at a time into the trailer
Waiting for my desert eyes to adjust to the dark
A wall of satellite imagery on rear projection screens
My station a clutter of keyboards, trackpads,
Joy sticks, headgear, everything I’d ever wanted
As a kid building models and playing video games.

You go on and on

We weren’t just keeping an eye on the bad guys
We were doing something about it; when some crazy cleric
Issued a fatwa, before his followers could start packing
Pressure cookers into backpacks we’d be on it, surveilling
Their every move ready to take them out the instant
They move into range, or at least we were
Before they lost interest, lost their nerve, lost the resolve
For permanent solutions to persistent problems.

You go on and on

Now I’m in business for myself, not really black ops
Though I still have a few leftover scores to settle
More freelance consulting on an as needed basis
Keeping the world safe for democracy as we know it.
Delivering packages pays the bills and keeps me sharp
Ready to strike should any of those who refuse to
Go along with the measures our democratically elected
Legislators insist on shoving down their throats
Go too far.

You go on and on

Dealing out instant karma can be somewhat satisfying
Almost like having your own private rocket launcher
During rush hour or one of those auto alarm
Eradicators they used to advertise on Saturday Night
Live when you can be half a world away and not even
Hear the blast or the screams or the sirens just
Turn your bird around and bring her home to rain
Terror from the sky another day on another
High value target.

You go on and on

So now how am I supposed to react to these
Small town vigilantes with their high-capacity
Magazines gone fully auto, licensed to kill my birds?
Ignore them? Or add them to my list of HVTs?
This could really get out of hand if they figure out
How to track them, how to trace them back to me
Escalating into a full-blown shooting war
Drone on drone in the homeland, kill after righteous
Kill until justice is served or eliminated.

You go on and on