THE WHITMAN ISSUE

Mike Maggio

SHOPTALK

The time has come to talk.
There’s a riot from 9 to 5
the buildings are looting the street.

Can’t you think of something else?
the birds are dying to sing.
Take the subway
see for yourself
the music is deafening
the sky is a distant place.

What do you mean it’s come to this?
Yes, I understand
the sharks are on the beach
go to Bermuda
it’s safe there
I understand.
There are toothpicks in the forest
you can’t find the wind
I understand.
Business is business
you want strawberries for dessert
I understand.
It’s part of the plan
I understand.
I understand.

Stop signing those checks
and listen to the lilacs bloom
listen to the rush hour
listen listen
listen to time die.
Yes, I know.
Yes. Yes.
I understand.

Mike Maggio is the author of a collection of short stories, Sifting Through the Madness (Xlibris, 2001), a chapbook of poems, Oranges from Palestine (Mardi Gras Press, 1996), and a poetry cassette, Your Secret Is Safe With Me (Black Bear Publications, 1988). He has published in numerous literary journals, including Potomac Review, Pleiades, Apalachee Quarterly, LA Weekly, Pig Iron, and Live Poets, and is a member of DC Poets Against the War.

Published in Vol. 6, No. 1, Winter 2004

To read more by this author:
Mike Maggio: The Wartime Issue