Cleaning the Kids' Room
John J. Ronan
The white room reeks of Eden -
Toy tribes and puppets, warriors
Of honest nonsense who defy reason:
Huckle vs. the buttoned-down Borg.
Barbie observes, casual and naïve.
Ken’s calm, unaware of the drill
That follows early make-believe:
Apple! Ooops! Liquor and pills!
Out the window in clapboard bastions,
Valiumites and Pepto-people wielding
Wallets face grimly their own wisdom:
Furious weekends, an urgent larking.
Someone conceives, boxes the child’s
Wild and profligate point of view,
The far fetch of first calling worlds:
Numen or tumor, the commute untrue.