---

1.

A constant stream of entertainment
requires that my organs stand at attention
even my spleen

2.

My bartender used to line up my empties
on the bar
to sucker newcomers into playing pool against me

3.
In my youth
I chose rationality
over irrationality
because I was terrified
of my mental illness

I eventually beat my illness
into submission
Later I became a pacifist

4.
The High Desert sun is also weary
He hides behind drizzle for a week
while the sewer men dig up my street

After I got my college degree
my woman said I could only move in with her
if I was employed

I got a job at a sawmill
The old growth redwood logs
were massive
but could never dwarf my
hypertrophied ego

My best friend at the mill wore steel-framed glasses
He had wedded himself to
Harley engines

His dick, he once joked,
wouldn’t keep flies off his balls,
let alone his knees
We were in the gym at the time

---

Work by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois appears in magazines worldwide, including The Disappointed Houswife. Nominated for numerous prizes, he was awarded the 2017 Booranga Centre (Australia) Fiction Prize. His novel, Two-Headed Dog, based on his work in a state hospital, is available for Kindle and as a print edition. His poetry collection, The Arrest of Mr. Kissy Face, published in March 2019 by Pski’s Porch Publications, is available here. Visit his website to read more of his poetry and flash fiction.

Show Mitchell some love via Paypal at grabmitch(at)hotmail(dot)com.