Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the toy gun…
Making its noise more and more…
Pretending to be shot…
Tommy…aged 3…
Confined in his nursery…
Innocently…
Eyes closed temporarily…
Fleetingly in fun…
He plays at being dead…
As he lies prostrate on the floor.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the pencil…
Tapping out its encore…
On the wooden desk…
Tommy…aged 13…
Confined in his bedroom…
Studiously…
Eyes looking distant…
Languidly longing…
He thinks of serving his country…
To be a hero in the Marine Corps.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the machine gun…
Firing its ammo in war…
Ripping through flesh…
Tommy…aged 23…
Confined in his trench…
Terrifyingly…
Eyes wide open…
Frozen in horror…
He stumbles in numbed shock…
Among the blood and the gore.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the knocking…
By an officer of the law…
Haunted by nightmares…
Tommy…aged 33…
Confined in his sanctuary…
Despairingly…
Eyes seemingly soulless…
In a dead stupor…
He is glutted on liquor…
With a gun he robbed a drugstore.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the banging…
On the bars of the gaol cell door…
Possessed by demons…
Tommy…aged 43…
Confined in his cell…
Forlornly…
Eyes flickering wildly…
Laden with torment…
He is a social outcast…
His prospects hopelessly poor.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the nails…
Hammered into the coffin, before…
The tolling of the knell…
Tommy…aged 53…
Confined in his box…
Lifelessly…
Eyes closed forever…
No longer seeing…
He has rope marks on his neck…
A forgotten statistic for sure.

Rat-a-tat-tat…
The sound of the toy gun…
Making its noise more and more…
Pretending to be shot…
Billy…aged 3…
Confined in his nursery…
Innocently…
Eyes closed temporarily…
Fleetingly in fun…
He plays at being dead…
As he lies prostrate on the floor.

Rat-a-tat-tat…