John Yohe

Dale


Lufkin Texas
three weeks of humid hell
fighting wildfires in jungle woods
she was a server at a restaurant in town
tall and skinny
dressed in black
with pig tails
though older
and being from out of town can give me courage
I said I liked her hair
and she liked mine and before I asked
wrote her number on the bill
 
the next night picking me up
in a long black lace dress
hiding nothing
taking me to her apartment
with pictures of demons on her wall
drawn by a boy on death row in Florida
who sent her dirty letters
 
her bed with black satin sheets
books on witchcraft
but she said she wasn’t a witch
that she worshipped Satan
had an altar with candles
 
when we kissed
I grabbed her throat
and she closed her eyes
said I could do whatever I wanted
which was frightening
 
she said she was a prostitute
when she was younger
but had been married
(two different husbands)
for twenty years
her current husband paying for the place
she hadn’t let fuck her for eight years
 
I asked if she let Satan fuck her
and yes
and Satan gives as well as takes
 
she asked me what I liked
and I confessed to her
the darkest thing I had imagined
and she kissed me
wanting me to say more
 
six weeks later driving from Phoenix to Chicago
I thought of her
called her late at night
telling her things other women would not like
and she was glad I talked that way
was glad I said she scared me
didn’t mind I didn’t give my number
said to call whenever
asked me if she had a lot of money
if I’d want to live with her
she had a plan she couldn’t tell me about
 
I told her no
to be careful
and kept calling
once a week
that’s all I would allow myself
until one night her phone was disconnected
 
last night I saw
her name again in my phonebook and called
it rang this time and rang
and I don’t know what I wanted to say
something dark
and to have her say yes





John Yohe holds a MFA in Poetry Writing from The New School for Social Research, and a MA in The Teaching of Writing from EasternMichigan University. He teaches writing full-time at JacksonCommunity College. His first full-length collection of poetry, What Nothing Reveals, is out now. A complete list of his publications, and poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing samples can be found at his website: www.johnyohe.com

No comments:

Post a Comment


The views and opinions expressed throughout belong to the individual artists and may or may not coincide with those of the other artists (or editors) represented within the magazine. Hobo Camp Review supports a free-for-all atmosphere of artistic expression, so enjoy the poetry, fiction, opinions, and artwork within, read with an open mind, and comment wisely. Thanks for stopping by the Camp!