'Sixteen Little Words'

deadline poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the August 18, 2003 edition of The Nation.

July 31, 2003

(From the new musical by George Bush & Karl Rove, The Buck Stops There.)

First Tenet said, "The fault is mine.
I should have looked at every line."
Then someone at the NSC
Said, "No, George. Please. Not you. It's me."

It's everybody's fault except the boss's.
They're coming forth to take the blame in hordes.
They all say they're the one the albatross is.
There's clanging as they fall upon their swords.

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About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...
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