Margo Davis
Tracking the Fall, 2018
Dusk, finally, the wind traveling
the rich emerald Quebec Country Club
to the patio where we cocktail. Someone
toasts CNN coverage of overfed Pres Harrump,
whose mention sullies the tablecloth,
sours our drinks. A few defend
order choices before their real argument
chokeholds four flammable companions.
This ugly American pleads the Fifth, tracking instead
the shimmer elusive tree line horizon
so natural I fall speechless, breathe in
deeply. Newsfeed quotes volley and soar
off-course as I trace fleeting bilious clouds.
Why is that elephant stomping a donkey? Any donkey
knows to bite, kick, bray. I can’t block out
covert operations repeated here-and-now
from a private email chain shared by only
ten thou. Each strikes out on a complex course
that intersect the same platitudes. Where’s our waitress?
More wine, scotch, gin. Our malcontent
lectures every potted plant while chewing
half-raw steak. The others look down as he
bludgeons his tenderloin and half-flirty talks
with a waitress hanging in for a steep tip. A golden sun
sinks. The skyline turns the deepest
red without drawing blood.
Margo‘s more recent poems have appeared in The Fourth River, Ekphrastic Review, Misfit, and Light, and the Houston Chronicle (Fall). Recent anthology publications include Enchantment of the Ordinary (December), Of Burgers and Ballrooms, Untameable City, numerous Texas Poetry Calendars, and Echoes of the Cordillera. A Pushcart nominee awash in Republican mindsets, Margo thrives on closely observing film, photos, and natural settings. She’s known for eavesdropping.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.