Dead Certainty

Do I dare? and do I dare?
To speak...
Dare I
do
I

***

The question, sir:
does the leader believe
in absolutes?

He can because
he will
and who is there
to won't.

Can or shall or may?

As in,
pursuant to article Alpha
section Omega
the leader
can (or) shall (or) may
will
kill
here
now
me
each
all
under
law.

Of course by proxy, doubtless.  (yes)

But also gun in hand.  (why not?)

That is to say, sir,
(None Other Before Me)
kill as in put a bullet in the head
as in draw a blade across the throat
as in garrote
as in hands
squeezing
around
a neck

I remember when...

men terrible
without names
turned one
named
into a looping
detached
thing
linking
recurrence

And sickened
into crying
(what kind of world)
seeing that intimate
ragged dying
I
(compelled)
imagined ropey
ligature
stubborn
(whelmed)
yielding
to a dulled
(muted)
edge

Can you (or)
May you (or) shall you
too;
will you
under law
here now
dare
me

***


The question - do you as president believe you have the legal authority to execute US citizens on US soil on the grounds of suspicions of Terrorism if you choose to do so? - was one that Obama, like Brennan, simply did not answer.

As always, it's really worth pausing to remind ourselves of how truly radical and just plainly unbelievable this all is. What's more extraordinary: that the US Senate is repeatedly asking the Obama White House whether the president has the power to secretly order US citizens on US soil executed without charges or due process, or whether the president and his administration refuse to answer? That this is the "controversy" surrounding the confirmation of the CIA director - and it's a very muted controversy at that - shows just how extreme the degradation of US political culture is.

Obama officials refuse to say if assassination power extends to US soil