8.8 If You Tried To Overthrow the Warlords

by Eric Chaet

If you tried to overthrow the warlords
& the profiteers who supply them
& the investors who finance the profiteers
& the profiteers who service the investors
& the politician vassals of the profiteers
who themselves couldn’t overthrow the warlords
plus all those among your neighbors still deluded
& would-be warlords eager to replace the warlords
you’d only be insulted & impoverished
even killed if taken seriously
but it’s advantageous
to know what you’re struggling
long-term to un-do
as you attempt to craft a strategy
for your own survival & to achieve
whatever you think you can that’s valuable
& that you’ll be able to manage to deliver
to others now or in the future
& a strategy for whoever survives
the catastrophes consequent
the warlords’, profiteers’, & vassal politicians’
blind tho cunning drive for glory, loot, & legitimacy.

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