Poem-A-Day

Hot War     

by Robert A. Miller

Like warships

My mother and father

Sent artillery barrages

At each other  

That night

As I lay awake listening,

Each salvo was 

More brilliant than the last

Impossible to match

But each response was even more

Devastating until

I couldn’t conceive of another 

Effective blast,

Their fights were few and far between

But monumental 

And we three stayed hidden

In the back room

While the hot war lasted,

But not long after

It ended

My mother’s joyous laugh

Returned

And they’d look at each other

Like they were both

Holding a single handful

Of precious water

~

Robert A. Miller was born in Brooklyn and attended Brandeis University. His career started as an actor in the Obie-award winning play, RIOT! He went on to become Director of Educational Publishing at THIRTEEN/WNET, New York City's public television station. He lives and writes in the northern Catskills.