If I Were a Poet

For every big boss at a big desk,
making the big decisions about the big bombs,
there would be a hundred teenage boys
with hearts racing about their first date this weekend.

For every scientist checking their calculations
and announcing that yes, just as we said, a 15-mile-wide boulder
is coming straight at us,
there would be a thousand kids playing with pebbles on the beach.

If it happens by fire,
there would be 30,000 children roasting marshmallows,
And if it happens by ice,
there would be just you and me sitting on our porch,
eating peppermint ice cream.