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Gravity
rocky shale cliffside to the right
highway cement rolls under the tires
at 48 mph
big city lights ahead
as the sky morphs pink of the dying sun
but left
off this interstate above a river town
rooftops of all colors
brown black red even green
eye-level with a granite cross
that rests high on top of God’s house
Down there
someone’s getting drunk
someone’s getting high
Down there
someone’s making love
someone’s ‘bout to die
I wish to turn left
crash
through the guardrail
fuck gravity
take the real out of it
drive over
this now fictional town
like a Universal Studios Park ride
Milltown Americana presented by Pepsi
reality blurs
when watched from above
Gravity II
Do you think birds look down on us?
I mean
literally
of course, they do
but figuratively
They have to believe
They are the rulers of this earth
Gods
watching from above
laughing at our elaborate fantasies
Two robins on a wire
They watch me
I watch them
I know they’re talking shit on me
a lump in a chair
rooted to this earth
no matter how much I flap my arms
I can’t escape
I wish I were Buddhist
or not too lazy to convert
reincarnate as a hawk
I want to spread my wings
and just chill
on a puff of hot air
look down
see a 6’ 2” 225lb man
and think
I could take that fucker
eat for days
but choose a bunny rabbit instead
They shit on us
literally
and we call it good luck
The Gods
dropping a deuce on our heads
anointing us
with their blessings
Thank you, Lord,
Thank you.
Irony in the family bathroom at the Gitty-Up-N-Go
road trip pit stop
little gas station
on an Alabama highway
above the toilet
choices
Rough Rider
nubbed for her pleasure
The Love Kit
condom, massage oils, tickle-me-feather
The Bikini
slimmer for a tighter fit
and on the wall beside the toilet
a diaper changing table
I can’t help but wonder
as dads wipe shit
out of the fat rolls
of chubby creased groins
if they’re thinking how $.50
might’ve changed things
Jason Melvin received a gimmicky T-shirt from his teenage daughter on Christmas with a picture of one large fist fist-bumping a much smaller fist. The caption read, “Behind every smart-ass daughter is a truly asshole dad.” It fit. His work has recently appeared in The Beatnik Cowboy, Olney, Rat’s Ass Review, Bombfire, Front Porch Review, Horror Sleaze Trash, Anti-Heroin Chic, Zero Readers, and Sledgehammer, among others. He was nominated for a Pushcart by Outcast and was named second runner up for the Heartwood Poetry Prize 2021. He can be found on Twitter here and at his website here.