D

it also made me think about rwanda
oklahoma city and bosnia-herzegovina
but now this is the saddest story
a few years ago in liverpool england
(a humble working-class city like queens, i imagine)
a 3 year old boy was murdered near a train track
and they found out the killers were two 8 year old boy neighbors
who tortured him for no apparent reason
just for laughs, and when they were done they killed him
i remember the sick look on my wife's face
when she told me this, there was nothing i could say about it
this wasn't cute news for jay leno to tell jokes about
it kind of made everything around us just look sickening
my wife was so upset she still can't hear about it
and she never, ever, ever, ever got over it
the thing that got to her most was that the last glimpse
anybody had of the little child
he was being led by the boy killers
along the train tracks crying as he was walking
and he was clutching their hands as they led them
clutching their hands in fear along the train tracks
clutching the hands of the boys who would kill him

clutching the hands of the chicken wire mother
who floats now through the air in oklahoma
who walks among dead bodies in rwanda
who gives fat-free milk from silicon breasts in america
who lets the people of the world hate each other
who makes us all feel like idiots for ever hoping
if only, when we were born, we had that extra touching

Hand
Young monkey
Menacing Mother Monkey
Next