Nine Days in October

"What she deserves is to suffer!"
And suffer she did through nine
Intense hours of screaming and darkness.
They tied her legs to the
Bed and her arms to her
Sides so she would not thrash
Around and make things difficult for
Them.  She asked for water, her
Lips were parched, and they pretended
They could not hear, or maybe
Her throat was dry from all
The screaming - the pain was coming
Faster now - that she had not
Actually said anything out loud.

He sat quietly in another room.
Reading. Studying. He had a test
Coming up, maybe his first. He
Wanted to - and now needed
To make a good impression. He
Sucked on the end of his
Pipe and memorized the necessary details
Of tort reform.

Outside the tanks rumbled down the
Highway, shaking the buildings, rattling the
Windows, and if they were not
All so busy with their own
Worries, they might have thought to
Be concerned for the young men
Sitting atop the green metal machines,
Holding their guns carefully. Were they
Loaded at that point?  And where
Were the tanks rolling? Were they
Carrying rockets that would shoot ninety
Miles, or were they just for
Show, or to calm the fears
Of those who were paying attention,
Looking out their windows, looking up
From their law books, or from
Their sips of water, or looking
Down the hallway waiting for the
Doctor to arrive and do whatever
Is to be done in moments
Like this.

"If you'd done more screaming nine
Months ago, you wouldn't be screaming
So much now." And the doctor
arrived, and my father stopped sucking
On his pipe, passed the test,
Then passed the bar.  The tanks
Passed the hospital nine days later
From where ever they had been,
Going back to where ever they
Were stored, ready and waiting for
The next threat of communism to
Rear it's ugly head, just as
My ugly head appeared - or crowned -
In Miami one October day.