The President’s Nightmare

By Elton Camp

Although he was careful lest he should gloat,

The president told the death of an ugly old goat
Afterwards, he went to his chambers to sleep
And began to dream when his REM was deep

In his dream, Osama was captured, not killed

At first, the president was thoroughly thrilled
That day had been delayed for ten long years
Osama as a captive first put an end to his fears

He imagined what the consequences might be

It could be more horrible than he wanted to see
Almost as if he were actually very wide awake,
Mr. Obama mused, what direction will this take?

Will the man just sit in the martyrs’ chair?

Having now been captured may put him there
What developments can we expect to ensue?
Will acts of violence his imprisonment renew?

What if insistent demands for the zealot’s release

Are the price his followers demand for peace?
How many deaths of innocents would be enough
To decide that holding him is just far too tough?

Most likely bin Laden we will hold for a while

But how soon, if ever, will he be put on trial?
If convicted, what punishment will we decide?
Shall he be put to death or in prison long reside?

The president kept dreaming in utter dismay

He didn’t know what to the nation best to say
As he was about to give in to most total grief
Realizing ‘twas a dream gave him such relief