gentlemenagerie

Kai Lossgott

fore
fathers, they roamed
freely through garages and back yards
mowing lawns, fixing cars, sweating
bald heads shining in the sun
they conquered the great expanse up to the
garden gate
and the white-starched shirts on the clothesline waved
as if they were going somewhere special
somewhere far away

on the frontlines the mirror the paper the morning
news closely shaves off the edges of the real
world stiff upper lips drank coffee
made deals kissed ass,
raising insult, money, questions and kids
in little briefcases stacked with the most
important papers in the world, surely
with always and forever.

Later, dozing in
the fading glory
of a life spent
fighting for
the front porch
they tell of
adventures in xenophobia,
racism and bad taste
we cringe, thinking in twenty years time we wont be
folded neatly like suits and years of well-worn insistent
preventative measures, insurance policies, polish and a bit of grease
oiling the hinges of worn-out beliefs
with conversations running in circles

the epic battles through forgotten eras
the five o'clock traffic
how they met your mother
and bought you a video game for Christmas

LitNet: 21 October 2004

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