When I was growing up no one laughed
at Detroit. The arsenal of democracy ranked
fourth or fifth among American cities.

Proud to be a major target, we learned
to identify every airplane in the sky
so we could spot the enemy before he attacked.

My home town built tanks, trucks, and planes
from coat hangers, flattened cans, toothpaste tubes,
and tinfoil peeled from cigarette wrappers.

Too young to fight, my friends and I collected
whatever was needed for the war effort
and took it to our front line ― the curb.

Korea and Viet Nam were threats to individuals,
not the nation. Kids didn’t try to help. College and
Canada were acceptable alternatives to the draft.

A volunteer army made Afghanistan and Iraq
possible, but mismanagement of those wars
may have made it unsustainable.

The arsenal of democracy was outsourced,
and all that sprouts from my patriotic roots is
an old fogy who won’t buy a foreign car.

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