Outlaw Poetry By Wayne Burke

Wayne F. Burke's poetry has appeared in a variety of publications. his three published poetry collections, all from Bareback Press, are WORDS THAT BURN, DICKHEAD, and KNUCKLE SANDWICHES. His chapbook, PADDY WAGON, is published by Epic Rites Press. He lives in the central Vermont area.

The Joint

so drunk I could barely stand,
Mahoney held me up
at the bus stop in Cheyenne
after dark
after the bars
with big elk and antelope heads
on the walls
their sightless stars of eyes
and some guy who
said hello
said he remembered me
from being inside the joint--
the bus driver said I could not board
Mahoney spoke silver words
to get us on
I fell asleep in the seat
my head fell on Mahoney's shoulder
he elbowed me
like a punch
and I straightened
awake
for a moment
then went back
into the blackness
and the cell in the joint
where
I had never been.


My Car, My Life

my car stalls in the road
and I pull it over
into a gas station
a big guy inside
wearing a gas station uniform
I tell him my car
but can't think of it's name
"like a Porsche"
he tells me to follow
and we go inside the garage
my car up on a lift
wooden scaffolding around it
guy on scaffolding says "transmission"
and the big guy hands be a bill for 6000$.
I ask about a trade-in deal
and Pat, my old boss from
my old job in mental health,
shows me around the lot
but
I can't make-up my mind
and announce I will pay the six grand
and take my car back
and the gas station guys and
customers wildly cheer
my decision,
which
I feel good about.


Drink?

A drink was always the
answer to
whatever problem:
toothache
heartache
debt
bad childhood
angst
"have a drink, you will feel better"
loneliness
hopelessness
frigidity
morbidity
headache
gout
"have a shot, it will help you out"
myocardial infarct
bankruptcy
old age
doubt
distress
PMS
"have a drink, it will fix you up."
Always