He asked if I saw it

“What?” I asked

He said, “The bullet, the one we just dodged”

I’d mostly been looking at the tulips

“Oh, yes,” I said as we passed

It was comical, and odd

As we walked by two kids in scout uniforms

They were tugging on the door handles of a minivan

Their (presumed) mother came out with a baby on her lap

She looked at me as if I could understand

I wondered the last time she’d had a nap

She looked about my age

She snapped out, “Paige!” as another little one swerved on her bike

“Yep, bullets, bullets, bullets,” my husband said

How did he know what was in my head?

So we both started running without saying another word

Suddenly the horizon was obscured

By Halloween house smoke, bubbles, and raw eggs

“We’re under attack!,” I said

As we circled the block, the assault was non-stop

That woman in her minivan was beside us

Two kids hung out of each side window

It was a mix of each holiday for them, as strobe lights then appeared

Turns out the dad was in the rear

Me and my husband were outrunning parenthood

Those parents were out to recapture whatever they could

Sleep deprived but fully alive, they came at us

With their arrows: four children

Somehow everyone was laughing

We sought shelter in our building: our quiet home

Still with some energy in the tank

Grazed but not fatally wounded

We both concluded

We made the right decision

We wish our neighbors well

But we won’t be having children