War Profit Litany

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.