Guerilla War, The Libretto

By Robert Keeler

Act Three, Scene 1
(A grassy plain near the jungle’s edge.)

Senorita Tonya, with loaded chromed pistol

The saying goes that timing’s everything.
The human body, when it works, it works
so well; and once I tickled Che Guevarra
in his ribs—Bolivia, years
ago. The human species is so strange—
all bluff, deception, imbalance, great despair.
He’d dressed in camo, green and brown fatigues;
a Lugar in his belt, a bright whistle.
He’d said, The mind’s a danger, deep in fear.
Always with the dark blue beret.

Father Aposto, her missionary confessor

Unrest our consort; enemy’s afraid.
Diversity’s a weapon; passion heals.
Amid concerns, our sadness fuels our fight;
my bended knee conceals my edgéd dagger.
But winning is not our goal. Butterflies
grumble about even the stinking moths.
Is nothing off limits or gentlemanly here?
Separate cells, what defines each?

Chorus
In hallways, in crossing, ever sure of breath.
Holding the high pass against all.

****

Robert Keeler was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in the jungles of Colombia. He holds a BS in Mathematics from North Carolina State University, an MS in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a Certificate in Poetry from the University of Washington. An Honorman in the U.S. Naval Submarine School, he was Submarine Service (SS) qualified. He is a recipient of the Vietnam Service Medal, Honorable Discharge, and a Whiting Foundation Experimental Grant. He is a member of IEEE (technological society), AAAS (scientific society), and the Academy of American Poets. A former Boeing engineer.