"Yuval"

Three in the morning

A soft blue light emanated under the blanket.

His father stared into the darkness at the tell-tale light

And whispered, “Aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Wait! I’m fighting the Klaxons,” Yuval whispered back.

The twelve-year-old jinxed left and downward

Avoiding a thorg and racked up survival points

Passing safely through an asteroid belt

When the sirens started blaring through the walls

And the phone app blurted “Code Red … Code Red”!

His father shouted at Yuval to stop the game

But Yuval asked “Why? My room’s the bomb shelter”.

His father was already waking up his wife

And pulling the dog out from under the table.

A deafening boom broke the glass and shook the walls.

“It sounds like next door, I think,” his father said

And went to peer outside.

While Yuval strafed a death star

And the fires flickered on his father’s face.

                                                July 11, 2019