Karl Marx Alienated Me
from my Washing Machine
Karl Marx
alienated me
from my washing
machine
and now I don’t have
any clean laundry.
And if I leave the house
naked again
I’ll be a repeat
offender.
And you know
what most everyone thinks
of double-dippers.
Crossing the Rubicon
with a Case of Beer
and Call Waiting
The kitchen window is open
and I wonder if she
is looking.
There are frequent complaints
about the tenant
in the basement
and the noise levels
at all hours
and the unsavoury company
he keeps.
My case of beer rattles
as I make my way
up the drive
and something tells me
she knows about the rest
of it
at 11:29
in the morning
as I pass by her window.
In a few hours I will be drunk
and the landlord
will start
calling.
And threatening to call the cops
while the nice lady upstairs
polishes wood and does
her dishes.
Rush
The pendulum swings
and we are in a playground
again.
Pumping my young legs wildly
while my father pushes
from behind.
Higher than ever before.
The chains locking together
with effort.
And I keep looking back
to make sure he is still
there.
That feeling you get deep in your stomach
that only fighter pilots
and hold up men
are supposed to
know.
Harley
Hopping on a broken motorbike
with one wheel
in my neighbour’s driveway,
I forgo the helmet
and let my polyester
stand in for leather
as I tell my neighbour
I can almost feel
the wind
through my
hair.
He does not seem impressed
and says
he hasn’t seen my old lady
around lately.
I tell him
I haven’t seen her
around lately
either.
We both
laugh.
Checking Out
Last light.
Looking for salvation
where there is nothing
but toothpaste
and toenail clippings.
As the nightingale sings
and the piss trails wind
and the bony ribbed strays
of back alleys
fight to the death
for far less
than a
eulogy.
Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian-born author residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada with his wife and many bears that rifle through his garbage. His work can be found both in print and online in such places as: Evergreen Review, The New York Quarterly, The Academy of the Heart and Mind, Setu, Red Fez, and The Oklahoma Review.
