always somewhere else
in a foreign language
an ocean away
another part of town
the neighbor’s house
never near you
in the same room
your blood on the floor
your muffled cries heard
down the well-lit streets
always safe behind screens
with coifed stern faces
stating facts about others
numbers abstract and soft
pushing their deaths away
never the mangled bodies
splattered brains on the wall
never at fault
never complicit
always another lie
(November 17, 2024)
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