P001 - mask off.

A poem to end one year & begin another.

mask off

cops and robbers
bang bang 
i shot you down
now the playground
wants to know
who’s the good guy and
who’s bad and
who’s the motherfucker
in the white t-shirt
with the mask on?

little green soldiers
stationed under shelves
of shoeboxes
and woulda coulda shoulda 
plans to storm the castle if
the castle still stood if and
only if time stood still
only it didn’t

plastic figurines
talking back and
marching forward
click clack click clack
you wave the white flag of
surrender of 
surprise of
soon but 
not now child

tag
you’re it
you’ve always been it
you know there’s no safe zone
there’s never been a safe zone
no, no, you’re it
i touched the back of your white t-shirt
before you touched the tree
and told you what you told me
there’s no safe zone
there’s never been a safe zone

why don’t you get on 
with it and besides
aren’t you a little old
to be playing these games and
aren’t you a little  cold 
to be in just a white t-shirt and

that stupid little mask?