I want to tell you
how I grew up with air raid warnings
nuclear-attack simulations, about six scared ten-year-olds
crammed up together beneath the teacher's desk
heads tucked beneath our knees in a duck-and-cover drill
while the six o'clock siren
wailed at ten in the morning, but you

say you're tired of hearing
about the bomb, want to
talk about the air show at the military base
next door, wonder if we should pack a lunch, or if
there will be concession stands set up
in the parking lot