sculptor unknown: minneapolis
EXIT
STRATEGY
by
Charles P. Ries
Elaine
took me to her German psychic,
as
expected, she saw everything.
Our
bad days and our glories.
The
history of our times and species;
we have been together
for generations.
Realizing
how long I have been with Elaine
made
me feel tired – I didn’t realize we’d been
working
things out for over 400 years.
That’s
a long time to accommodate a sentient being,
I
don’t care what form I was in; me as:
Her
cat
Her
dog
Her
sister
Her
butler
Her
mother
Her
hair stylist
Gerta
saw it all against her inner astral cineplex.
I
didn’t know I was once a charming pistol packing pescalero
a
handsome Mexican bandit who charmed Elaine
(in
an earlier even more succulent form)
to indulge my desires.
Irresistible
under a vast pecan tree.
My
sombrero tossed casually to the side
The
Milky Way strung over our heads.
I
pick the flower she willingly offers me.
We
melt into the warm night – two sentient beings
as
happy as two sentient beings could ever be.
She,
the sheriff’s daughter
virgin, sixteen, flawless
filled with secret flames
Me,
hanging from a pecan tree
limp, twitching, forlorn
looking a bit bewildered
Too
many lives to hold in one small boat.
Yet
on we sail, east to paradise
fighting our way toward enlightenment,
the only exit strategy
for two weary souls.
~
first published in The Café Review
