Tentatively, he walks the shore
a donut in his hand.
The clouds have come to fill the air
with words he won’t understand.
Saucer eyes, is it wrong that he just doesn’t care?
Hypnotized by a flag waving up in the air.
Who built the fire,
and who drew the water,
and who tied his hands behind his back?
Who watched his red back shine
beneath the water and smiled when it started to crack?
He curls beneath the bridge and licks
a donut that he found.
His finger strokes the sand to watch
another sun go down.
And he dreams of a boat pushing off from the shore,
Where he stands, hand and hand with his friends, in their pointy white hats
with their wooden oars.
Who built the fire
and who drew the water
and who tied his hands behind his back?
Who watched his red back shine
beneath the water and smiled when it started to crack?
They said his flag was a symbol of hate-
Saucer Eyes didn’t care.
They looked at him and saw the bad;
he just saw it everywhere
His t-shirt hangs below his knees,
alone beneath the overpass.
They circle him; his eyes grow wide-
could his friends be here at last?
All in all, when he cried it was the voice of a child.
All in all, when he died it was the flight from a broken cage
of a creature so wild.
Who built the fire
and who drew the water
and who tied his hands behind his back?
Who watched his red back shine
beneath the water and smiled when it started to crack?