far removed
by Molly Smith

watching colin powell
on a fuzzy tv screen
in my daughter's warm bedroom
addressing the UN
about mobile chemical labs
in iraq
and the poisons in their hands
hemorrhagic fever
small pox
mouse pox
botulism
bacillus anthracis
sarin gas

how far removed i am
in my little cocoon
trying to force myself
to care about
crashing space shuttles
and threats of war

instead i sip bottled water
in my ceramic tile kitchen
dreaming of oceans and kisses
and staring outside at snow
colored grey with soot
wishing the sun would finally
appear over the horizon
so i can learn to smile once again

Molly Smith is a an extremist who writes to curb the racket in her brain. She is the editor of Failed Seeker, a poetry 'zine based out of Dayton, Ohio. Comments on her work can be addressed to alterochelyosef@juno.com.