What Is Is? Or Bill Clinton’s War on Tenses.

What Is Is?

Or

Bill Clinton’s War on Tenses.

One day, they will make us trade freedom for safety:

            Securing us from the inside against porous borders.

One day, they will convince us we are to blame for

            Ancient wars that predate our very existence.

One day, they will charge us ransom—protection funds:

            Collected in taxes and paid in human lives.

It depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is:

            Asked in the present tense and I would have said no

And it would have been completely true. Is Is. ISIS:

            One day in the future, one day in the past:

One day in the now, no matter how parsed, they win.

            They will win. They have won. They are winning.

ISIS is now: Is was: Is will.

            Is have.

By whatever name:

            Al Queda:

            PRISM;

By whatever tense:

            Present perfect:

            Subjunctive;

By whatever unbounded

            Base of operation:

            Stateless, stated,

stating;

By the terror in our minds:

            Inside-outed:

            Inciting;

By the terror in our

            Everyday fear:

            Fearing itself.

Headless, diffuse:

            Beheaded.

On our shores:

            Prolific like ideas:

                        Ideas like gods:

In us: IsUs: IsUS.

            One day, one day, today:

                        Every now-day.