zumpoems

The car radio, TV, Alexa

all scream
strident waves and bits
of dust-shattered ruins

with every killed
who had blood on their hands

there are many more bloodied
that never killed

innocents

the old lady hanging her clothes
from a splintered rope

little girls at an elementary school
their books and bodies
too near an IRGC base

how can I assimilate signals
of streamed devastation
thousands of miles away

I stare at the cold microwaved popcorn
the lukewarm beer at my recliner’s side

if they kill everyone
perhaps we will now have peace

and if not a moment of peace,
a moment of silence?

— zumwalt (March 1, 2026)