I wrote this after I flew cross the office
(Why? Jeez. in 1986 (?)
I 'splained...
to a bemused office worker (Irish, too, in IT?)
Carl Momberg (black cape, monacle n riding crop?)
was on Evangeline Beach in 1985 in a singlet
w/ THE CUBAN ASSASSIN... n then I saw this book
Self-help or Self healing(?) on for a buck er two
from the Alumni Mag with profits to go to a school
fund n' I thought, wait now! Hang on..her too?
Then I thought Oh My Love! My Land Loving Land!
If those hairy and heavy lugs hadn't been there, that day
smokin cig'rettes (n most probably weed) then
I coulda been on that beach with her, not on the
Mini Putt course, n I might even a got finally, my first
taste of skin.
Been called a "star" twice this week
how much more this week...then
a call at 11 - Oh, John!
I'll be wearing a beret and carnation.
Is your medication
up to the prescibed dosage?
A new dosage, new
psychiatrist?
Meeting in film office, two men
circling each other
the dials of a clock. Cap off,
neatly trimmed beard, bow-legged stance.
Ear cocked and away!
Um just tell him to warm the tea pot,
boil an egg for me in the morning...
I won't crack it...
I'll collect the shell on the plate,
Crush it to powder with a fork...
but how to explain to the next guest...
Stink bomb?
John Stiles is an acclaimed poet and novelist from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, CANADA. He is the subject of the award-winning and innovative poetry documentary, Scouts Are Cancelled. His most recent novel is Taking The Stairs (Nightwood Editions, 2008), set in Nova Scotia and Toronto. He lives in London with his wife.
