Richard Brancato
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BILBO BAGGINS II

​Genocide.  Conquest.  Slaughter.  War.  

​Suicide bombers blow themselves up inside crowded buildings.  

     “Thanks for the sandwich, Mom.  I’m going out now.  I’m going to blow myself up inside a
crowded shopping mall.”  
 
     “All right.  Give me a kiss before you go.  And be careful.”

Oppression.  Terrorism.  Maiming.  Invasion.
 
It’s good to wake up and have a cup of joe, smell fresh-cut grass, watch a Sox game on TV. 
There is no war in my basement. 
 
I will eat popcorn, and I will put my legs up, too.    


A version of this poem first appeared in In/Words, Nov 2006, Issue 6.2
















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