Swagger
Peace through Strength.
Wars to end Wars.
Reborn mantras
slip off tongues
of the freshly deluded
as they swagger
across the same streets
where critics once
balled up lies
in clenched fists.
In time,
those same streets
will entice,
even demand
the critics,
keepers of the lessons,
none more powerfully
poised than warriors
bearing the scars,
the pain,
the pride,
the regret.
The deluded
have never left.
Naïve justifications,
wars past,
wars present,
oblivious of profiteers,
certain to be prefaced
with shallow flattery,
yet another mantra:
“Thank you for your service.”
Len Shindel began working at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point Plant in 1973, where he was a union activist and elected representative in local unions of the United Steelworkers, frequently publishing newsletters about issues confronting his co-workers. His nonfiction and poetry have been published in the “Other Voices” section of the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Pearl, The Mill Hunk Herald, Pig Iron, Labor Notes and other publications. After leaving Sparrows Point in 2002, Shindel, a father of three and grandfather of seven, began working as a communication specialist for an international union based in Washington, D.C. The International Labor Communications Association frequently rewarded his writing. He retired in 2016. Today he enjoys writing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, hiking, fly-fishing, and fighting for a more peaceful, sustainable and safe world for his grandchildren and their generation. Shindel is currently working on a book about the Garrett County Roads Workers Strike of 1970 www.garrettroadstrike.com.