Before I float away

and watch my day vaguely double back

on the brink of reality I

push a button

bring a monster to life its pitch black

screen fissles and roars

light pulsates

mesmerizes me, puts blue boxes in my

open eyes while it swallows me whole

then formless people fade from the black

stiff newscasters with their

stifled gestures

painful laughs

smothered noises

uniform accents of nowhere

now these experts remind

"Things Happened!

Numbers Flashed!

Percents Decreased But

Polls Show:

Morale Is Rising!"

just the facts

now I know pictures did

flicker-scurry

across the screen

but so fast I'm not sure

was that a battle fought

on the scrolling

news ticker?

small though

so shouldn't worry because

of a little thing called

war

it sounds menacing

to you? but look, just

toy soldiers

little finger puppet armed forces

don't they look silly

and don't you know that

toothpick guns can't shoot

rubber-ball bombs never explode

when all is locked

safely in the

Television.