Turning the Jack’s frozen pizza on broil

Fire fire fire

Warning fire

Smoke pours from the oven door and hits Daddy in the face

Pizza wheel clangs alarmingly as cardboard circles scrape

Scorched edges of pepperoni and tender orphan sausages.

Torch torch torch

He screams

Unable to believe the house isn’t afire

I run screaming into the room

Mommy stands on a chair to silence the alarm

The veiled voice of the tall terrible fire woman

Retreats into her plain white box, where she contemplates danger

One click and she is silent.

My brother David brings us dinner plates

We thank the blessed Lord for his food

Frozen pizza is the only thing I will eat

Besides cream-cheese bagels, cookies, and peanut-butter sandwiches.

When I look over my glasses at my parents and brothers

I cannot believe our family will ever end

Can’t imagine us all having supper apart some sad day

When now is now and now

And we are a huddle of glasses Asbergers’ people

A five-headed family at a table

Eating frozen pizza

 Under the glow of smoke flowers.