Shudder
Just before the first plane hit the north face of the north towerBetween the ninety-third and ninety-ninth floors, a number ofPeople later reported there was a flickering of power, a brown-Out, just for an instant, as one man said — a sort of shudderingThrough the building. Probably an electric thing, but I wonderIf the tower was flinching. Busy morning, thousands of people,Surely it was just a surge in the grid. But maybe not, maybe allThe people in the tower at the exact same moment thought didI say that I loved her or just think to say it? Did I actuallyLeave the newspaper divvied up like he likes it, with the sportsOn top, or did I bring it with me? Maybe that's what happenedWhen the building shivered. Whatever you're sure of, don't be.Maybe the last thing that happened before they were all meltedIs they grinned with affection and thought hey I'll make dinner.That could be. I know it's his turn but o what the hey why not?
Army man
One morning I shambled out to the car to warm up the old bonesBefore the snarling boys came with their huge bristling backpacksTo disgruntle their way to school but there in the dirt at the fringeOf the lawn was an army man. He hadn't been there before. He'dBeen buried, I think, and the epic rains this winter disinterred him.You know the army man I mean, the army man we all had as kids.Why did we all have army men? With their rifles, and standing onTheir surfboards, their helmets pulled down over their staring eyes.We mowed them down with marbles. We melted them in the oven.We set them to attack the sea and we cheered when they drowned.We strapped them to balloons and sent them to burn in mother sun.We are not as civilized as we think. We still offer meat to old Mars.We make little totems and let them fight and die for us in the lawn.We still send our children to die and pretend to mourn as they burn.We say that we hate wars but we do not hate wars at all in the least.We have just created many more ways to war. Teams fight wars forUs now, and toys, and boys, and