Sunday, March 27, 2016

Alan Catlin- Three Poems


They are outfitting

the loons better
wherever that is,
I thought as he made
his way to the end
of the bar, sat down
and began a casual
conversation with an
alien presence in
another dimension.
I ordinarily don’t like
to interrupt private
conversations but
it is my job to ask
people what they
want to drink.
He treated my inquiry
as the worst kind of
felonious assault,
began deep breathing,
inhaling, as if he were
trying to suck the air
out of my lungs.
I watched for awhile
wondering how long
he could go on in this
manner, thinking, maybe
forever the way he was
working the air, so I
said, “There’s a ten dollar
cover charge for the air.
Pay up or leave.”
That brought him back
to earth and fast.



Abducted

He had the air
of someone not long
for this world or
someone not long in it,
take your pick.
Was wisp thin,
anemia pale,
scarecrow tall
and able to repel
creatures simply
opening his mouth
as if to speak.
Uttered sounds so
guttural and confused,
something inside of
him must have been
congenitally deformed
or deliberately altered
to prevent his telling
where he had been
taken and how he
got back.  Could
have been a star at
Alien Abduction
conventions if he
could have spoken
clearly of his ordeal
but this was not to be.
Better luck next time
is all you can think
to say.



Putting a New Face on the Homeless

Outside mall by
exit lights, homeless
man stands dressed in
second hand rags and
an ET rubber mask.
Holds a Homemade sign
that says, ”Need Cash
                To Phone Home”
You had to give him
extra credit for ingenuity
as you fumble for loose
bills, change.


1 comment: