If they were going to put me in the nuthouse
I was going to need my collection of Bertita Harding novels
They had power–
the stories of these heroes would keep me alive:
Karl and Zita of Hungary
Austria’s Franz Joseph and Elizabeth
the Mexicans Maximillian and Carlotta
Duse and Da, whose tale age cannot wither
and the glowing story of Clara Shumann
but my wife, a Lithuanian
whose hands were strong
from decades of milking cows
tore them from my grasp
and shoved them into the Fat Boy stove
where I heard them crackling in anguish
as she held me away
I would have burned my hands retrieving them
and not cared at all
All I could save was my favorite
the story of the Braganzas of Brazil
who created independence
from the Empire of Portugal
which I had hidden
in my patterned brocade vest
which I wore over my cummerbund
The hell with you all
I was never cut out to be a farmer
When they release me I’ll take Bertita
on the open road
and together we’ll find a green paradise
something like Ireland
Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois has had over fourteen-hundred of his poems and fictions appear in literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad. He has been nominated for numerous prizes, and was awarded the 2017 Booranga Writers’ Centre (Australia) Prize for Fiction. His novel, Two-Headed Dog, is based on his work as a clinical psychologist in a state hospital, is available for Kindle and Nook, or as a print edition. His new poetry collection was published in 2019, The Arrest of Mr Kissy Face. He lives in Denver, Colorado, USA.
Inky Interview: Author Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois from Denver, Colorado
Flash In The Pantry: Serotonin Reuptake by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Flash In The Pantry: Mandela Warp: A Moment in History by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Flash In The Pantry: Cooking Shows by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Flash In The Pantry: Still Wet by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Loch by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Photogenic by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Microwave by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Granite by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Trick by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Coal by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Petition by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Poetry Slam by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Hygiene by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Between Jobs & Not Me by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Mea Culpa by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Stoned by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Five Hundred SCUBA Divers by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Love Bird by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Wailing Wall by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
Poetry Drawer: Buzz by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois
