Ken
Ken, Version 5
for Bobcat
by Dirk Michener
After Paul Revere fucked Ken’s wife backstage
Ken shipped out to ‘Nam
When he got back from the ‘Nam
He was spat on at the airport
Like Rambo
And moved out to the woods.
Chigger bites don’t bother Ken
Because he learned some trick about it in The ‘Nam
In the funny-books they call it “The ‘Nam”
Is why I call it that.
Ken’s woods-girlfriend has a broken leg
And a tattoo that says “Bad Co.”
Like the band from the 70’s
Ken laughs at his woods-girlfriend as she hobbles thru the woods on her crutches
Ken’s soul went away during The ‘Nam
The Nam sucked for Ken
But he learned better how to live in the woods
Way better than Paul Revere taught him back in Idaho
When they would play a 45 record of a distressed rabbit
So as to attract mountain lions and shoot them with pistols
Once Ken shot a mountain lion about 15 times
10 years later he’d be out in the bush killing gooks
10 years after that he’d be working at a car wash
10 years after that he’d be in the VA hospital
Then later he moved back to the woods
Where he met his Bad Co. girlfriend
Together they built a raft out of pallets and tarps
Left over from the Kroger’s in front of the woods
The raft is tethered to a tree
It floats on the drainage collected from the street
They keep their expired eggs and milk in the raft
Mosquito’s don’t bother Ken
He can build a fire that doesn’t smoke
And stay one step ahead of everybody.
I remember Bobcat from a couple former websites ago…
He commented on one of my poems that came out rather cockeyed after the copy and paste submission process and said it was like being served his favorite meal on a trashcan lid. lol. After that i worked on presentation more.
Anyways, i read this story poem with great interest and was taken in right away with the easy readability via everyday conversational speak. Ironically my dad’s name is Ken and he went to ‘the Nam’ a couple times–crazy shit over there but that’s where he got his ‘foxhole religion’ and understanding with God. Lots of vets end up homeless and just prefer that kind of living without all the societal bullshit that goes along with the so-called American Dream. They are indeed a different breed.
I laughed at the part with the mountain lion getting shot after Ken played a distress call on a 45. damn that’s funny! But i could also appreciate the way the piece was put together and flowed like these lines: “10 years later he’d be out in the bush killing gooks 10 years after that he’d be working at a car wash 10 years after that he’d be in the VA hospital”–excellent craftmanship! (My dad never wanted to go to the VA on account of ‘foreign doctors’ but when you don’t got no $$$ it’s better than nothing. Awesome ending too–“Mosquito’s don’t bother Ken He can build a fire that doesn’t smoke
And stay one step ahead of everybody.” In painting they have portraits. In poetry we have poems like this that give us an up close glimpse of a person and their ‘essence’–what they’re made of. Great read! thx!