sirens

i remember running
home from school
during an air raid
drill at the age
of nine. the sirens
wailing with the fear
that the world as
we know it could go
up in flames at
any moment. and so
i ran in my striped
polo shirt, my hair
parted on the side
with brylcreme and
a short black comb,
my jeans rolled up,
and my high top
sneakers slipping
and sliding on
the green grass,
trying to get home
before everyone
was dead.