The Great White Fleet and the Battle of Flowers
Into the breach
our white hulled battlewagons
circumnavigate the globe
Teddy sends Fightn’ Bob to speak softly
and carry a big stick emphasis on the stick
on Cabrillo horse drawn carts cars
townsfolk in dress whites a town draped in flowers
flower-decked saddles and bridles a battle of the flowers
a parade welcomes the armada
and the fleet steams in
four battleship squadrons
14-thousand sailors and marines
we flex our martial and industrial muscle
one of forty ports of call
Santa Barbara stands-to with
a flowerlike celebration on the waterfront
then presents arms and arms full of flowers
After the Edson Smith Photo Collection Great White Fleet
Phil Taggart has four collections of poetry: Walking the Dog in a Time of Rage, Rick Sings, Opium Wars, and an art book with artist Ann Harithas, Cowboy Collages. He has been a poetry editor for over twenty years for Art Life limited edition, and with Marsha de la O, the Askew Poetry Journal and Spillway. He teaches Broadcast Digital Media at El Camino High School at Ventura College and CAPS Media.