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.