The Smart Bomb My brother frequently picked on me Last week he even ditched me with his friends, All older by several years, And I waited an hour at the park For nothing I wanted the chance to get even with him, Maybe even to tell my parents That he was seeing some girl All those afternoons he said He was doing extra credit at school – If I really got mad, that is But I never did Because he, my brother, Played cards with me and laughed a lot And taught me football and made sure Nobody ever pushed me around Except him Yesterday morning he shared his porridge With me even though he was hungrier, and bigger Naturally I wanted to kill him A hundred times a day for teasing But not the way the smart bomb did They told me it was a smart bomb That made a mistake I wonder whoever made it so smart, Somebody a million miles away, Did he have a brother Who put a hand on his shoulder to squeeze it As they walked home from school For no reason at all My parents couldn’t answer that question, My parents, I can hardly recognise them We’ve been ditched but there’s not even Waiting ________________________________________________________________________ Emanuel E. García, 2014 published in Truthout |