[I blew up a bed]

I blew up a bed
next to the TV
and slept

the afternoon away
not a bomb
an air mattress

I blew up a bed next to the TV
and listened for explosives
I was far from The Danger

I was an official telewitness
On TV no one had slept
no one was an American anymore

what rights did they have
the threat was out there
the threat was in here

the threat was
thumping inside
my chest

stay home vs. shelter in place
show of force vs. tender classmates
thermal camera vs. death wish

the ways these things go
the bloody botch
the half life of the tweet

he was the bomb
vs.
the bomber

I won't divide up the world
into those who want to find the links
and those who want to sever them

because you see how I'd be guilty
but you get my point
we have words

and touch
and what look like
different bodies

no one is knowable
but we've got skin
that scrapes and bleeds

we have no
armor
most of us

it's a miracle
we stay separate
and unscathed

we made all these
things
with sharp edges

shake a hand
say thank you
say happy birthday

it's a miracle these
Saturdays of honey-
light parties

and no one bloody
on the floor

precarious

not like walking
on a tightrope
but like walking

to the mailbox

I was far
from
The Danger

I rarely feel safe
or I almost always
am