manager
sheriff
parmesan cheese
squash
program

Spice Pack:
1/2 teaspoon of fear
1/8 dash of infatuation

###


the manager & the sheriff were lying flatly on their
backs in an organic squash patch

passing little aluminum packets of parmesan cheese
back and forth

lying there so long the squash tendrils began to tickle the inside of their ears
and wrap their tiny green curls round their toes

they were watching the magnificent stars

and asking with some fear
if i might not think of anything better
for them to do

i’m a short fuse these
days so i let out a mighty
sigh and with that
appeared a tiny notebook and
a tiny pen in their tiny hands

write your own dang
program then yeah
lets see you
do any better

the manager laughs aloud
and writes something
that only the sheriff can
see. blushes move from cheek
to cheek

it won't change anything i holler

as if unhearing, one
pulls a fleck of parmesan cheese
off the other’s face