when the air
is tense & humid
like us
they flex
their muscles
for crumbs
when there’s only
so much nectar
to go around
the morning news
is just another
kind of war
that doesn’t matter.
Big Mama & Bar Baby
the bartender in camouflage booty shorts
exchanges smoke rings & gossip
with the old men
& overweight snaggletooths
chalking their pool cues
between mugs of flat beer
as her daughter
not quite 2 years old
waddles around the room
in a tiny bedazzled cowboy hat
saying hello & waving to everyone
like a future rodeo queen
inspecting all of them
as if they were livestock
let loose into the wild
while her mother scoops her tips
out of an empty pitcher
there’s never much
on the day shift
the kitchen closed
the jukebox silent
as they walk out
into the rain
hand in hand
toward the dollar general
her hat blowing off
in the breeze
& she chases it
down the street
like a lost dog
it doesn’t matter
it doesn’t provide much shade
& it’s supposed
to be hot tomorrow.
The Never Ending Story
for bill gainer
i don’t care
whether your stories
were true or not
here’s what i know
you were gentle
you liked black coffee & pancakes
any time of the day or night
you liked old poets
& young waitresses
you were a great friend
you tried to give brautigan
a run for his money
you struggled
as hard as
you could to fight death
with one arm
tied behind your back
but just simply
ran out
of time.
John Dorsey is the former Poet Laureate of Belle, MO. He is the author of
several collections of poetry, including Which Way to the River: Selected
Poems: 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), Pocatello Wildflower, (Crisis Chronicles
Press, 2023), and 100 Mornings, (Sacred Parasite, 2025).
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