The sound of gunshots in the distance
Has me tilting my head to listen intently
Not too close I think, but not so far away

I go about my morning routine
As if this is an every day event
As if I have reached a certain level of blasé

Not thinking about the significance
Of this harsh and intrusive sound
As it relates to the lives of others

I hear sirens ululate in this early hour
They sync up with a dangerous clock
Started in the heavy grayness of pre-dawn

Ah—I think – it really was gunshots…
And go back to my grooming
My only concern is taming a wayward flip of hair

There are two women dead in the street
Three terrified children held hostage
More than two dozen officers at the scene

Only a mile and a half away
Lives are irrevocably changed
Yet I pull out of my driveway no differently

From its own dimension the standoff continues
Even after I am anonymously cocooned at the office
With every hair perfectly in place