Prime Time
by Robert Murphy

Misconceiving his idol's message
The child runs for his father's new toy.
In his hands he senses the power it contains.
Unfamiliar with what he possesses.
Curiosity arouses the young minds and before their
Wonderment diminishes
One falls cold
Never to arise
Inquisitiveness attracts the other to the
Flow of color,
It's warm, yet his friend lies cold.
Too much to handle what has happened
Uncomprehending the desolation
And soon overwhelmed by the noise and attention
The morning headline read "Another victim...."
No name
No memories
No emotion, they know nothing.
Twenty-five years ago, it seems like an hour.
That article, now worn and faded
Hangs from an old, rusty refrigerator
Secured by a Mickey Mouse magnet.

Robert Murphy
May not be reused without written permission of author.