Hold your horses. Calm your jets.
Nothing’s happening – not just yet.
Wait a sec – give or take, per se.
The bombs will not be going off today.

We’ve got a stay of execution
so none shall hear the shot of gun
nor slice of sword nor blow from axe.
No cylinder shall cut the wax

for aught shall happen in the short.
All timatums cried “abort!”
No decisions have been made;
with no explosions, no one’s dead.

So let us breathe uneasy air
and take some steps with worried care.
We dodged one bullet, anyway.
Since no bombs will go off today.