Necessary and Proper

The moon's lamp is on.
In the shadows of the parked cars
Frankie the cat is eating a mouse
in a few quick swallows.
Why am I thinking about
the Commerce Clause
of the U.S. Constitution?
It gets its power from
the Necessary and Proper Clause
also known as the Elastic Clause
"The Congress shall have Power
To Make all Laws
Which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into Execution
the foregoing Powers,
and all other Powers
vested by this Constitution
in the Government of the United States..."
Necessary and Proper.
John Marshall stretched it way out there.
All the way from
McColloch v. Maryland
to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Necessary and Proper
implies a lot of things,
like regulating commerce.
"...with foreign nations,
and among the several states,
and with the Indian Tribes."
Necessary and Proper
turns up the volume
on the Commerce Clause.
Gibbons v. Ogden
sunk Robert Fulton's
steamboat monopoly.
Don't ever antagonize
the Commerce Clause.
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States
smashed Jim Crow flat
on the interstate.
The Commerce Clause.
Necessary and Proper.
These words expand and contract
with the passage of time.
United States v. Morrison
slapped down the Violence Against Women Act.
That's Rehnquist for you.
Why am I going on about this?
It's Necessary and Proper, I suppose
and words do live and breathe
and words are the soul of meaning.