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Friday, April 07, 2006

HOMELAND SECURITY 101

by Carol Elizabeth Owens


He “instructed her to perform a sexual act
while thinking of him." – ABC News (Apr. 4, 2006)

Some of the exchanges ‘are too extraordinary
and graphic for public release'". – New York Times (Apr. 6, 2006)


little
girl, is your dad
at home? i want to come
over— we can play house without
anyone else knowing
about our
little

secret
service meetings.
the house is white, inside
out. sex has exposed a weak link
in security. guard
our boarders—
little

girls, boys.
children at home
with electronic text
are frequently chained to danger
as intelligence lurks
on line. stranger
little

things are
happening, right?
beyond the picket fence
is where big problems really lie—
so keep looking outside.
remain on high
alert.


Carol Elizabeth Owens is an attorney and counselor-at-law in Western New York (by way of Long Island and New York City). She enjoys technical and creative writing. Her poetry has been published in several print and virtual publications. Ms. Owens loves the ways in which words work when poetry allows them to come out and play. The poem "homeland security 101" [above] is written in a form called 'eintou'.