inside the safe house
the neighboring kids
amassed their bikes
and wagons and scooters
and any other kind of steel
structure with or without wheels
piling them up across
a southside driveway
they stood behind their
improvised barricade
lifting toy weapons and fists
high into the air
screeching indecipherable
insults at an enemy
hiding behind mere curtains
november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved