stick figure family with a shotgun
one wife
two sons
a daughter
two dogs
–
decal plastered on the side of a
dirt crusted suv
paper white skin
color coordinated
watching from the rear window
–
driver’s side
gazing with blank soulless eyes
pasted on smiles
waving in uniformity
dad’s reaching for the shotgun
and I can’t help but think how these lunatic faces must scream
when the red of the tail lights hits them in the dark
–
maybe dad will use that gun on mom
maybe the son in the green shirt
possibly one of the pooches when it shits in the house one too many times
or
take it to work
reassert himself as the man he knows
he is
reclaiming his balls from the emasculating clutch
of corporate culture
–
who can tell
when he hides his rage behind that smile
when the whole family follows suit
–
the odd thing about this image though
is how much closer he is to that weapon
than to those around him