G.I. Joe,
abandoned in his backyard fortress
    of rocks and sticks,
forgotten in favor
    of flesh and blood warriors,
rules now
over a platoon of the small–
    ants and dragonflies,
    mice and voles–
who, awed by his muscles, his uniform,
    his commanding voice,
    his superior intellect,
    the plastic, camouflaged Jeep,
willingly follow and obey–

in the playroom, a doll;
in the lawn, god.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.