Two Poems

Sam Pink

THE REPELLENT

Have been viewing repellent things
not as repellent
but instead, guiding me towards
the right course.
I hope this finds you
like a rock to the temple
or a feather on your skin
while you sleep.
People who tell you really personal things
shortly after meeting them
are trying to control you.
I hope this finds you.
This afternoon I was idling in my truck
enjoying the heat
parked in the grocery store parking lot.
And I saw the cart collector
running a cart over to the cart area.
He jumped up and rode it
both feet on the rung near the back wheels.
And I immediately felt defeated
in every possible way.
With no hope for redemption
outside of acknowledging the new king.
I hope this finds you
like a smile from someone
who has already turned their back.
I do my-shit.
And you do your-shit.
Neither of them can
or will prevent each other.
I hope this finds you
like a serious eye-gouge.
Or a cliff you didn’t know was behind you.
There was a kid wearing cowboy boots
with his hands in his jean pockets
smoothing down some snow in the courtyard
with the bottom of one of the boots.
And watching him
I immediately felt defeated
in every possible way
with no hope for redemption
outside of acknowledging the new king.
Best wishes from another cold evening.

THE BUCKET

When I was leaving for the post office there were four cop cars in the apartment complex parking lot. They'd been around lately for some other bullshit, but this time I saw one exit an apartment holding a manila envelope that said ‘evidence.’ When I got home later, my next door neighbor came out and called me over. She asked if I knew what had happened. She told me somebody had killed himself. Last night. ‘I seen his dad coming by this morning, I felt so bad,’ she said. ‘I seen him carrying his mattress out to the dumpster. It was heartbkreaking.’ She told me the dad had a bucket with him to clean up before letting maintenance and the rest of the family in. We talked a little more and then I went home. Thinking about the bucket, like I am right now, and probably will be, many more times.

Sam Pink is a no-good, lowdown, dirty rotten son of a bitch.
back