i dreamed of a fast talking charmer named mike who wanted me to work for him selling cars
he’d started out in jewelry so was well experienced in pushing high ticket items
but being a savvy chinless guy figured cars would always be needed
and diamonds despite being a girl’s best friend couldn’t get you to work at least not in most situations

i explained i lived the life of the mind
and dealt in words on paper
and he said great take those words and turn them into persuasion you’ll be fine
and for some stupid reason i said yes

but in that dream i couldn’t seem to get up at the requisite hour to get to the showroom
and he kept calling the house getting various people who didn’t belong there answering the phone
and when i finally did show up he sent me off on a mission
hunting for red juicy fruits my favorite flavor by the way

and sure enough found some lying on the ground under leaves
next to the picnic tables in the park
but instead of bringing them back stuffed them all in my mouth
and when i returned he looked at me sadly and agreed perhaps i wasn’t cut out for selling cars

and there was more but that faded
and when i awoke five people had died
seven had bought toyotas
and the rest were milling around not knowing what the fuck to do

i shrugged and turned away to make coffee
knowing i couldn’t raise the dead
hadn’t sold those cars
and being lost myself had no advice for anybody

 

RC deWinter’s poetry is anthologized in Uno: A Poetry Anthology (Verian Thomas, 2002), New York City Haiku (NY Times, 2017), Cowboys & Cocktails: Poetry from the True Grit Saloon (Brick Street Poetry, April 2019), Havik (Las Positas College, May 2019), Castabout Literature (Dantoin/Hilgart,  June 2019), The Flickering Light (Scars Publications, June 2019), Pointed Circle (Portland Cascades Community College, June 2019) Nature In The Now (Tiny Seed Press, August 2019), Southword 37 (The Munster Literature Centre, Cork, Ireland, September 2019) in print in 2River View, Down in the Dirt, Genre Urban Arts, In Parentheses, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Pilcrow & Dagger, Pink Panther Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review and in numerous online literary journals.

Image banner: Dean Hochman via Flickr Creative Commons