United States, (contemporary)
a new attitude
- someone jabs a pregnant sow
- with an iron gate rod,
- she ain’t moving fast enough.
- someone kicks a boar in the head,
- to prove he’s a badass.
- someone slams a piglet on the cement floor,
- won’t make weight, too skinny.
- someone can’t find the bolt gun,
- kills a lame hog
- with a ten pound sledgehammer.
- fucking boss calls me into his office,
- says
- “you need to change your attitude,
- need to smile more often.”
- i got a walmart happy face button,
- stuck it on my hat.
El Bambi
- A sign above the door says
- El Bambi since 1943.
- The joint is filled with
- ranchers
- truckers
- and the like.
- A horse collar hangs on the wall
- next to rusty license plates.
- Drop a penny in the slot
- get your exact weight
- and your fortune told at
- El Bambi since 1943.
- Pig farmers drink their 3.2 beer
- chow down on bacon, eggs, coffee and
- the waitress knows your name as
- music from the 50s plays.
- A relaxed atmosphere
- everyone is safe unlike
- the cafe on the other side of town,
- no one’s ever been shot dead at
- El Bambi since 1943.
About the Poet:
Lawrence Worth “Larry” Jones, United States, (contemporary), is a poet, writer, activist and educator. In the spring of 2005, he was conferred an MFA in Creative writing; in 2012, an Advanced Certificate in Adolescent Education from Hunter College. He has spent over fifteen years teaching literature and creative writing to middle school students, presently at Hofstra Gifted Academy.
Arriving in New York in the early 70s, Jones was quickly swept up into “The Plastic Exploding Inevitable” of Andy Warhol’s coterie. Through the 90s, he was the Artistic Director of “Café Nico”, his poetry, painting and performance venue at 101 Avenue A. He has also been a lifelong acolyte of his original mentor, Kenneth Koch.
Jones was a recipient of an alumni scholarship from City University of New York, 2002, and a teaching fellowship, 2004-2005. He was coordinator of the Gay Liberation Front, New York City, 1970; plaintiff Gay Community Alliance, Norman, Oklahoma, 1972; campaign coordinator for Nader New York City ’96, 1996. Jones is a member Poets and Writers Inc. and an Academy American Poets (associate since 2005). Jones recently published a second collection of poetry, A Poem of Common Prayer, (Rogue Scholars Press in 2016). [DES-01/22]