Where Death Angels Bloom

An antiwar poem

Raising the flag on Mount Suribachi,
     the iconic shot.
Foundational for a nation's identity —
     the great American myth.

But Iwo Jima was so long ago
     and film doesn't last forever.
Transforming over time,
     like the Picture of Dorian Gray.

Unveiling the curtain,
     a mountain of decaying corpses
     with Death Angels in their eyes
     reach for the flag which stands 
     stubbornly erect,
     over everything.

---

Death Angels are formally known as amanita ocreata, a poisonous mushroom found in the United States.