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God became two
two baskets
two goals
two teams
(and even went
as far as four bases)
Each side went to war
to feed its Mandala:
A hungry jealous God
was their Mandala
demanding more and more
of the object falling in
and through its center
People on the sidelines
screamed
and shouted
for its Mandala
to be fed
Sometimes bombs
served for such food
other times it
was fed footballs
basketballs
baseballs
pucks
darts
and arrows.
Black days
brought missiles
up into the air
over towns
and cities
where it was
programmed
to descent
into the heart
of a population-Mandala
Such an atomic
explosion
was worth
3 points.
During peaceful days
it was
a silver rim
hung on a pole
where a center
shot
was worth
two
always there were
people to cheer

Irwin R. Shaw - January 15th 1987