BACK DOOR DRAFT
at Mister Moe’s Bar
during a lull in karaoke
DJ Sammy plays
"Proud To Be An American"
Letti announces her son
Ricky is scheduled for
a second Iraq deployment
on the 11th of November
it’s the same announcement
she makes every night
at the tavern since
her son’s orders came through
Letti hugs Ricky to her bosom
and promises
"he’s coming back
he’s coming home safe"
and everybody sings
along with the song
the sudden patriotism
outweighs financial frugality
as the patrons argue
over the honor of
buying Ricky the next
draft beer and shot
Ricky slips out
before the song ends
he can’t stand the thought
of another drunken hug
from some steel worker
who starts every sentence with
"I can’t imagine
what you’re going through, but..."
he walks back to his room
in his mother’s boyfriend’s house
and marks another day
off a calendar
that doesn’t extend
past November
BAD OMENS
the dove crashes insanely
against the window
a fury of dirty wings
tattooing the glass
fluttering sunlight
across the bedroom floor
I stir the curtains
retreating the bird
to its power line perch
you know what that means?
the wife asks
it don’t mean anything
it means someone’s
going to die
that’s crows, not doves
if it’s a dove
it means a woman
is cheating on her man
that’s not true
my point exactly
as soon as I slip
back into bed
the dove renews its assault
with inexplicable intensity
and I can’t help
but wonder
what is it trying to tell me?
My name's Karl Koweski. I'm a 33 year old displaced Chicagoan now living
on top of a mountain in Alabama. I've had stuff published all over. My latest
collection is Diminishing Returns and is available at www.sunnyoutside.com. I
do a monthly column "Observations of a Dumb Polack" at
www.zygoteinmycoffee.com and "Phantom of the Okra" at www.antimuse.org.
