Cappelbaum Gets a Divorce
This poem has appeared in the Spring 2018 (Volume 19) issue of The Liar zine.
"can I have your name
for the cup?
asks the perky barista
"shylock mouths Cappelbaum
"never mind the bollocks
as he sips his
triple
venti
caramel macchiato
Cappelbaum wanders (wonders
at the optimistic brutalism
that surrounds him
two girls gallop past
at breakneck speed they shout
"itsfreecoverforthenexttwominutes!
hardly are those words out
that bill nye steps out of the shadows
all spinning electrons and hasheesh
then thinks Cappelbaum
must the Jew be
merciful
the foregoing reminds him of
a pedant (pendant in the shape of
a chevron
a nail rusted white
or the long slender leg
of a shroom
Cappelbaum's wife affirms
in her sleep "uh huh
and then turns around
there was once a girl jenny port'ead
who wouldn't sign lines that were dotted
who are you talking to?
at least I didn't fall
from the sixteenth floor
chasing a ball thinks Cappelbaum
as he's overtaken
by a severe regiment
of the royal canadian mounted whatever
the sergeant major
leads the procession
his face bebarnacl'd
he reminds Cappelbaum of
the white trash who present each other
smirnoff ice on a bended knee
who wax their womb brooms
and can't wait for patch 2.0
to come out for their tweeds
who pray in private life
(just as long as there's vin
to go with the pain
she'd bargained full force 'til she got her divorce
and she exited it all unspotted
"sorry to bother you!
Cappelbaum interrupts
a meditating Chinese
beside the seaside trail
"I just needed to touch this tree
Cappelbaum thinks would a comma here
make it worse, or much worse?
in the photograph
of his foot's torn integument
whorls recede into flesh
I am not a tree
decides Cappelbaum
looking up at the muscled bros
and their music boxes
he imagines picking a fight
with one then backing off
Cappelbaum has
the perfect retort
he will never use
"you'd better not he'd say
with a disarming smile
"first put on a few pounds