Michael N. Thompson

TEXARKANA

I drank whiskey sours

with some carnies

at a Days Inn

near Texarkana

The bearded lady

tried to put on the make,

but I was more interested

in seeing if the sword swallower

could live up to her name

It wasn’t hard to tell

why the side show barker

had a room to himself

You could hear his voice

booming from five doors away

Someone found a radio station

that only played Conway Twitty

and nobody dared

to change the dial

for fear of repercussions

from the strong man

When I woke up

in the bathtub naked,

I made sure my organs

were all accounted for

You never know

with carnies

ANOTHER WANNBERG INFLUENCED POEM

Jayne Mansfield flags me down

from the side of the highway

and I open the passenger door

She warns me not to pick up Bettie Page

whose jalopy has overheated at a rest area

ten miles from the nearest town

Apparently, Jayne doesn’t like to share

We pass by J. Edgar Hoover

caught in a bear trap

and I promise to set him loose

only if he tells me

what really happened

to the Kennedys

The son of a bitch

would rather bleed to death

than spill his guts

With Steve McQueen as our chauffeur

Jayne motions me to the backseat,

but I like my head in one piece

Steve’s road stories are more likely

to make the miles go faster

Michael N. Thompson likes bacon and fantasy football, but hates using ampersands.  His poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals including Word Riot and Toronto Quarterly. He is the author of four poetry collections, the most recent being A Murder Of Crows (University Of Hell Press, 2014). His next collection, Days Of Swine And Roses, will also be released through University Of Hell Press in late 2015/early 2016. Michael has lived in the Pacific Northwest, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles, but currently resides on the mean streets of Martinez, California. www.michaelnthompson.com