All the little toy soldiers
laying face down, the dogs
are all chewing them to bits,
their gums getting cut
on the plastic.

All the little dandelions
getting trampled on by the children,
their shoes stomping on
the greensward
that needs trimming.

All the little pencils
that get scratched down
into stents, the gray rusting
as an old iron gate
as the hands ache.

All the little darlings
I wanted to keep – let them burn.
Killing off the little things,
the sky wrangles its jaw
around me.