War Profit Litany

To Ezra Pound

These are the names of the companies that have made

       money from this war

nineteenhundredsixtyeight  Annodomini  fourthousand

       eighty Hebraic

These are the Corporations who have profited by merchan-

       dising skinburning phosphorous or shells fragmented

       to thousands of fleshpiercing needles

and here listed money millions gained by each combine for

       manufacture

and here are gains numbered, index'd swelling a decade, set

       in order,

here named the Fathers in office in these industries, tele-

       phones directing finance,

names of directors, makers of fates, and the names of the

       stockholders of these destined Aggregates,

and here are the names of their ambassadors to the Capital,

       representatives to legislature, those who sit drinking

       in hotel lobbies to persuade,

and separate listed, those who drop Amphetamine with

       military, gossip, argue, and persuade

suggesting policy naming language proposing strategy, this

       done for fee as ambassadors to Pentagon, consul-

       tants to military, paid by their industry:

and these are the names of the generals & captains mili-

       tary, who know thus work for war goods manufactur-

       ers;

and above these, listed, the names of the banks, combines,

       investment trusts that control these industries:

and these are the names of the newspapers owned by these

       banks

and these are the names of the airstations owned by these

       combines;

and these are the numbers of thousands of citizens em-

       ployed by these businesses named;

and the beginning of this accounting is 1958 and the end

       1968, that static be contained in orderly mind,

       coherent and definite,

and the first form of this litany begun first day December

       1967 furthers this poem of these States.