Terrorist (poem)

[Underground_Network]

Terrorist

Second flight canceled this week,
TV screens read malicious intent
Found in suitcase at airport.

I check my luggage
And all I find are
Worn down button-up shirts,
Pairs of faded blue jeans
And a collection of dead gray socks.
Nothing deadly,
From what I can tell.

My neighbor Mohamed told me
That he was in the fireworks business,
He told me men would hide flammable
Liquids inside soda cans and try
To board public transportation.
He said men would sneak small
Incendiary devices in printers and PDAs.
I asked, Why men?
He said, Tradition.

My cousin Enrique
Said never to trust
A man with a turban,
He changes the channel
When talks of peace
In the Middle East arise.

No one wants to be my friend,
Everyone is looking out for themselves.
The airport is closed again,
The departure and arrival screens
Are blacked out,
No coming or going today.

In the distance a plane,
Or maybe a star
Explodes into view
And my ears start to ring,
Why men?
Why men?