(originally published in NRG (Portland OR, Editor D. Raphael - early 1990s?) Dan, where are you now?)
She looks at you
your car bursts into flame
you eat your sandwich
taking a divot
She calls for Sarge
to do the nasty
with Balzac, below the tarpaulin
sky. Runaway flashlights
launch red from the vested man's hands
touchdown. Kruschev, she reasons
was a cow
implants concealing the jaw's sideways
grist. Satellite photos
click by, giving trust to the naked
Behind the wheel
your cat names itself
in memory of Battle Creek, Michigan.
She bolts your sandwich
to the driver's side door
toasted
you reach her
unable to finish
this is good! I love the phrasing, the cadence. I can't help thinking this didn't end well for the protagonist.
ReplyDeleteDan Raphael, the editor of NRG, was a wildly interesting guy (and probably still is). His publication ceased in the early 1990s, I think this was from the final issue. I once saw him do a poetry reading where one of the poems involved sawing a log in half. Everything in his magazine was "out there", very experimental. He was helpful to me with my writing during this time period.
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