Social Policy

Replace the axes with some bowie knives,
Replace the water with some cheap rosé,
Replace tomorrow night with yesterday,
And who will we be then? When peace arrives,
Our kids come out of hiding, and our wives
Put on their summer dresses, who will say
It wasn't worth the wait? We'll laugh, and pray,
And spend our evenings in suspicious dives.
 
When war returns, whenever evil comes,
Our sweet command of jazz and poetry
Will save the empty house, and revelry
Among the clans will rise: my good old chums
The unicycle riders, Frenchmen, bums,
And mooks will live together faithfully.