Bohemian Jerry

Bohemian Jerry
by Dillon Mullenix
Bohemian Jerry is always
broke
drunk
hungry
and smoking a long chain of cigarettes
I help him sometimes
with what you ask ?
his life
its awkward and dangerous
I go over there
to help
bring some food and cigarettes
fix his broken down chainsaw
so he can cut wood
then cut the wood for him
‘cause he got a bum leg
caught a ride from Austin and he ain’t got
no time to cut wood
‘specially in weather like this
I take the supplies in the kitchen
open a fresh bottle of whisky
make two drinks
make breakfast
some hish-hash:
carne asada pieces
tater tots
cut up baked potato
some spices
white onion
green onion
smokehouse sausage
olive oil
rosemary;
cooked all that shit up in a pan
eat with him on the front porch
drink more whisky
coffee
shoot a few cats that come over
from the neighbors barn
and sing cowboy songs
you want to make some money
I ask him
he says he don’t like money
keeps a man tied down
Jerry
he likes to have options
and have me cook for him and
do all his shopping for free
I tell him I’m fixin’ to lose my own job soon
the restaurant is closing
there won’t be any more free meals for me to cook for him
he says some other sapling will do it for him
when the time comes
I laugh
knowing that it is true