O’Bedlams
1.
pulling down hard
the only black leprechaun
realizes the sun inside
my eye grants me 246 wishes
of which 172 remain
2.
at the bus stop by the little
local grocery a veteran
approaches says he
knows that somehow I’ll
understand offering me
a small copper wire ball
fashioned to a key chain
from a jumble of charms
I accept it graciously and
immediately understand
3.
the Mongoose is the codename
of a former special forces soldier
with missing canines who says
his name with fingers in front
of his mouth flexing them with
each syllable, “Mon-Goose”
aggressively affectionate and close
he dances after the few bucks I give
him and invites me to a brunch after
he gets his government check says I
should meet him at Saturdays the all
nude strip club he lives behind makes
me promise that I’ll come back next
week to enjoy the gifts that god left
the first best country in the world
Michael Levell lives in Denver and teaches writing and literature in Aurora.
Send your poetry submissions of 250 words or fewer to [email protected].
