The Chronicles of Cone Man: No Easy Way Out

No Easy Way Out – 29^th March 2022

Twas a sunny March Day,

Cone Man was taking stock.

His life easy and far away,

From Eastern Europe’s monstrous shock.

Comfortable in his man cave,

Uncomfortable with his inaction.

Crane Tribe defended by warriors’ brave,

While Cone Man thirsted for action.

Too old and inexperienced to enlist,

Too far away to dig a trench or build a barricade.

He could do no manly deed of might,

While manly men history made.

Twas too soon to tell while warriors fell,

What path the antagonists would take.

Peace negotiations were painful; War was hell,

What settlement would they make?

Twas also fearful to contemplate,

Realignments of erstwhile friends and foes.

Permanent interests concerned every state,

Knowing not what new blocs lurked in the shadows.

All bets were off, all pundits were fools,

Myriad possibilities presented themselves.

All possibilities had their academic schools,

Which theories would languish on library shelves?

Would the Yuan replace the Dollar?

Would inflation render both currencies worthless?

How to survive without Eastern European wheat?

Would Dragon Tribe stand by Bear Tribe?

Would Hindi Tribe ally with them both?

Would the Stars and Stripes Tribe keep bumbling?

The terrible monster held humanity in its thrall,

Epic in scale, heedless of humanity’s fate.

Sooner or later, the monster would call

The shadows lengthened; the hour was late.

The monster would die hard, thrashing about’

There was no safe way forward, no easy way out.