NECESSARY EVILS
James M. Truxell
January 25, 1991
What is the half-life of plutonium,
The time in which its glow is cut in two?
For twenty-four thousand years half persists
To power turbines, or for making war instead.
"A necessary evil," it is said.
What is the half-life of evil?
Did it smirk at our simian descent from Eden's Tree;
Or is it only the cost of doing human business?
Is that the loathsome Beast that's in the head?
"A necessary evil," it is said.
What is the half-life of an adjective?
Longer than plutonium, more persistent than evil
Are the meanings adjectives impart
When, with nouns, they conjugate themselves in bed.
"A necessary evil," it is said.
Thus War breaks loose its shackles,
Its evil not recalled; its necessity assumed.
"In order to save the village, it was
Necessary to destroy it, to leave it dead."
"A necessary evil," it is said.
What is the half-life of hope?
Necessary evils halve it, and halve it, and halve it
'Til there's no more left to have:
No longer any hopes by which we're led.
"A necessary evil," it is said.
The half-life of despair is very
Short.
The venting of a gas,
A trigger's pull,
The severing of an artery turning all the world to red.
"A necessary evil," it is said.
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