Flattened Skunks (by Stephen Morse)

Stephen Morse
1/14/1945 – 1/16/2010

flattened skunks
by Stephen Morse, 2008

riding in 1952
in my uncle’s chevrolet
he stopped
saying, “take a deep breath
some day there
won’t be any
dead skunks
left to smell”

Uncle Vic later
sat on his white couch
in front of the white drapes
in his snow white livingroom
put a shotgun in his mouth
and somehow pulled the
trigger

Vic had gallons of silver dollars
three perfect
strange daughters
Diana Lee
Susan Lee
Barbara Lee

and knew the
dead skunks smell
we all did.

Discover more Stephen Morse at http://juiced-poet.blogspot.com,
at http://www.myspace.com/smorsepluggy, or in these volumes:

  

It’s Hard Being Zen While Living in a Zoo (by Stephen Morse)

Stephen Morse
1/14/1945 – 1/16/2010

It’s Hard Being Zen While Living in a Zoo
by Stephen Morse, 2008

The monkies are awake
swinging in the branches
on monkey island
the zoo in San Francisco
of course

old grey gorilla
sits pondering flea bites
and grapes

lions roar somewhere
where they echo
give me this day

some kids got
eaten by tigers

in the air
the seagulls come
and the seagulls go

out my window
it’s turkeys snow
and crows
some deer
opossum
coyotes
owls
our chickens
and flattened rabbit
cardinals
and chickadees

monitor to the front of me
monitor to the left
around the corner largely
a projection television set

satellite reception
disappears in the storm
over them til they’re
done
they let us out
for public viewing
prodding
for
food and
fun.

Discover more Stephen Morse at http://juiced-poet.blogspot.com
at http://www.myspace.com/smorsepluggy, or in these volumes: