Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. —George W. Bush

It started as a small boat of arrogance
a canoe of disdain, dinghy of pride
skimming the surface of ego

became a craft of braggadocio
barge of bombast, bateau of contempt
planing the brine of high-handedness

developed into a skiff of smugness
schooner of insolence, sloop of swagger
cruising a Sargasso of audacity

graduated to a yacht of gasconade
ship of solipsism, ocean liner of pomposity
sprinting along an expanse of narcissism

emerged as a flotilla of effrontery
floating palace of pretension, fleet of conceit
bearing down upon the deep of self-exaltation

coursing above the swell of superiority
it mutated into an armada of imperiousness
argosy of gall, titanic of hubris.