When he first heard the news on the radio
he couldn’t believe it —
so he switched on the television,
since visuals were harder to fake than words.
When he saw it on CNN he still didn’t buy it,
so he enlisted in the service to see for himself.
He went through the training, received his orders,
went halfway around the world and still didn’t believe.
He completed his tour of duty but still wasn’t satisfied,
so he enrolled at University in a country he couldn’t pronounce.
He learned everything they taught but still wasn’t convinced,
so he took a job that would het him observe
as much as he wanted, as often as he wanted,
whenever and wherever he wanted,
whoever he wanted, for any reason he wanted,
but still he didn’t believe.
At the end of his days he’d seen all he could see,
did all he could do, went everywhere he could go,
but he couldn’t bring himself to believe.
Finally he did the only thing he could do —
he returned to where it all began.
He went into the house,
he went into the room,
he climbed into the bed,
he turned off the lights,
he closed his eyes,
he held his breath,
and he waited for him to come home.