a theme

by Justin Hyde

when they
turn off my electricity
for nonpayment

or tow my car
out of my
work parking lot
for the same reason

or i
wake up
on a foreign couch
having drained my bank account
for a party i
can't remember.

it's only
at the bottom
of the chipped cup
i consider reconciling
with my ex wife.

we meet
for dinner

quit drinking

see a shrink

she goes on
and on
with her manifesto
of pragmatic
castration:

a cold
metal rod
upside my head

recalling
vividly

those years of
napalm
sunrise.