On Violence

You cannot tell me why it is that you want to fight

& wrestle me & defeat me

& whack your kid brother, & all these other things

But you did, through the gap between sugared teeth, offer your story

of a time

When doors ought have been closed & sounds muffled, your elfish ears flooded with foul music

When hands crafted for caressing betrayed their hinges, your tired eyes beheld elbow shields

When Daddy & M—

But oh, the bath water beckons, to interrupt your monologue...

& I, catapulting your wiry frame to the ceiling, ask you why you want to fight

& your huff-puffing deepens, knobby knees sink into couch cushions, a refuge from ketchup-stained carpet

No matter that the TV blares & Billy barks, for your tired eyes behold Mario's battles

For surely voices now are muffled, even drowned

Glub....

 Glub...

  Glub.