Kristofer Collins: An Old Man Poem

for Bill Gainer

You said to get in touch should I ever need

an old man to do the heavy lifting, if I ever

found myself in foreign jungles with no command

of the native tongue; like if I found myself

stranded on the PCH and the only Samaritan

to stop had that Charlie Manson vibe. You said

the extinction of carrier pigeons was just a cruel

rumor and they still dotted the skies over the Tenderloin.

I only had to carry the right seed, and a lot of it,

to curry the favor of the vanished. Your advice

has always been inadvisable, Bill, but the truth is

I could sure use your hand on my shoulder

right now. Oh Christ there’s one wild son-of-a-bitch

running loose in my brain, and Bill he sure could

use the company.

Copyright 2017 Kristofer Collins

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Pacific Coast Highway