I had a dream
where I'm watching a movie,
and the whole movie
there's a war going on
but no one really talks about it.
You just hear about it in the background
And the whole movie is a slice of life
just a young family in the suburbs
circa 60s Americana
and a couple of young boys tease
the girls with whom they're flirting
The whole movie
there's this fight between the parents
about where the hedges
should go to make the house
look nice,
and in the end,
they get around the problem by
shaping them across
the back wall of the house.
The problem is—
that's where the fuse box is,
so to shape the hedges there,
it would have to cover
the fuse box. And it's clear
the husband capitulated
because he was complaining
he would have to reach through the branches
to reset the breaker
should the power go out.
Well, some polite young neighbor
who the girls all seem
to love
walks to what he believes are trees
to drive a stake into the trunk of a tree
and show off what
a big muscly man he was. And as he drives the steak
into the fuse box,
setting off sparks and taking out the power grid,
“Soldier Boy” by the Shirelles plays and
the boys in the front are shooting fireworks
at each other while
the girls are running and screaming in delight
as they are chased by the boys who are after them
into the front. and the dad and mom stand up
from their lawnchairs, drinks in hand,
and they look at the fireworks,
and you can see the horror in their eyes
as the scene reflects a battle,
with the sparks, and the fire,
and the screaming,
and they realize for the first time
their boys will soon be
men.
And the movie ends and I am crying
And the dream ends and I am awake.