Death and The Enemy at the Ice Cream Truck??!!

Death and the Enemy

When the ice cream man rang his not so ominous bell
We came scurrying like little ravenous thieves. We
Did not worry about the finality of endings, just that
Our ice cream would melt before we finished it,
Or that the local bully would knock it from our hands
And onto the floor by our feet. He would laugh and
Point as we sobbed as if we’d lost our best friend or
A member of our family in a war to some crimson enemy,

We would not forget how he shoved us and we skinned our
Our skinny knees, yet we would recover. In adulthood, there
Are no bells to keep track of who will be left behind, no machine-
Gun, ticking time bomb or three wishes will speed their return
Little pebble flashes of memory will remind us that their chimes
Once faint and indiscernible are firecrackers going off inside of us.
And it is best that we continue to run when we hear sounds that are
Familiar to us, once again, and leave the musical change rattling in
Our pants pockets to chance,