THREE RECEIPT POEMS
fire shooting
from the ocean floor
blocks the view
from here. the alps
hanging from a calendar
on the wall are
either airbrushed or
overexposed.
the mechanic standard
of an algebra equation
is enough for me to get
in and out at the bank in
under five minutes,
cash in hand. the screen-
play writes itself.
brunch mountain erupts
and the biblical mice
grab while the grabbing’s
this side of elitism.
what now, we say standing
in line, waiting for them
to hand over the black
coffee, with no room,
and exit through the alley.
using best Robert Mitchum voice:
they played dominoes by the
bougainvilleas—a plant named
after a French explorer, I remember.
or was he a naturalist?
either way,
the one who needed winning, lost.
what can you say?
some times the numbers
put up against you.
FERNANDO A. FLORES is the author of Tears of the Trufflepig and Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas.