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ATTEMPT AT STOPPING TRANSIT by Scott Barsotti
More work by Scott Barsotti

II.
Dear Sir or Madam:

I am sorry
about the misunderstanding.
My motives were unclear it seems.
The problem is this--
the volume of the passing rail-cars
often wakes me uncolicted.
It frightens me. Really it does.
I tell the truth.

 



My dog is so bothered that she
will not say "I love you"
anymore, and I'm pretty sure
she still does, she just never says it,
and that saddens me.
I am persistently unhappy
and terrified as a result
of your mass transit system.
Iplead humbly for a remedy.

III.
Dear Madam:

Since we are not understanding
each other I am assuming you are
a woman. This is based on
my history with women.
It is nothing personal, and if it is
read that way, or if you happen
to be a man, I am sorry.
I appreciate the ear muffs,
though the sentiment behind them
seems muddled. While
the ear muffs are very warm,
they don't do much in the way of
blocking out the sounds of rail-cars.
in its entirety.

I have given them to my dog.
I think she likes them and
she looks very handsome in them.
But she still refuses to tell me
she loves me, and has taken to lying
on the sindowsill with
her head on her paws, watching
the trains go by.
I've never seen her so depressed.
At this time, therefore,
I must demand
the immediate cessation
of rail transit service
IV.
Sir,

I am sorry.
As sorry as ever.
I believe the trains
have gotten louder.
Dog is gone.
Left no note.
No forwarding address.




When rail-cars go
storming past my window
it makes me cry.
But not as much as an empty
pair of ear muffs.
And not as much as the hairs
on the windowsill
she left behind.

INK 2004 | INK 2005 | INK 2006

poetry

Scott Barsotti (2)
Erin Bad Hand
Ghazal Delvahz
Jenny Kendler
Joanna Kenyon
Jared Larson
Megan A. Riggle
Nathan Stanton
Ni'Ja Whitson

art

Conkin / Smith
Taylor Fleming
Adam Janusz
Paula Salhany
Hayley Schmidt
Leda Seyranoglu

comics

Lilli Carre
Russell Gottwaldt
Lucy Knisley
Jeremy Tinder
Jim Trainor