Paul Smith

Killer

He plays video games

I’m going to buy this character

who?

his name is Sub-Zero

you buy him?

yep

with money? dollars?

with coins

how do you get coins?

You just kill people

The Animal Kingdom

A bevy of swans

an allurement of coeds

a blessing of narwhals

a consecration of clerics

a richness of martens

a beggary of shoppers

a shrewdness of apes

an oblivion of influencers

an embarrassment of pandas

an embarrassment of aldermen

a cackle of hyenas

a confusion of ,project managers

a skulk of foxes

a calamity of Congressmen

a turmoil of porpoises

a snow job of salesmen

Cheech Goes On A Retreat

Cheech recalled his spiritual experiences on the West Side

‘Retreats? Yeah, we used to

the guys down at the Mediterranean Social Club

but then we stopped, it got too stiff

the Church runs those things, you know, the retreats

Father Bernardi from Holy Family Church

would hire a bus

for all of us

we’d get on around dawn

and go someplace with a Latin name

a monastery or something

we’d get there and we’d start off grilling up a sauce

you know, olive oil and peppers

Italian Rellenos

and Bermuda onions, go to Tony’s on Harrison for those

not too much heat, nice and low till they’re soft

then we cook up some sausage someone bought on Taylor Street

and angel-hair pasta, what a treat!

but before we eat

Father Mancini blesses it

what kind of prayer?

I don’t know!

a prayer, you put your hands together and say grace!

it’s in Latin or something

you just mumble, then you eat

then we go out and have a smoke

till it’s time to play cards

and that goes on till the bus comes back

or your money runs out

the one thing we all noticed

Father Bernardi lived at the foot of the Cross

when it came to poker, he was boss

we never could figure if it was luck or something else

but those pastors over there at Holy Family

always filled an inside straight

every time he won a pot

he gave us this little smile like right before he blessed the table wine

he raked in his chips

then he raked in mine

I’m not saying the good father ever cheated

I’m just saying his wallet got fat when we retreated

so instead we hang out at the Club

and play High-Low, Scopa, Criss-Cross and Biscola

it was better in the neighborhood

you know, to stay with things we understood

Blue Line

I like it when they shake hands

at the skate-around

before the face-off

I like it when

they knock out

each other’s teeth

Anything

where there is more

to it than just

the puck

Paul Smith is a civil engineer who has worked in the construction racket for many years. He has traveled all over the place and met lots of people. Some have enriched his life. Others made him wish he or they were all dead. He likes writing poetry and fiction. He also likes Newcastle Brown Ale. If you see him, buy him one. His poetry and fiction have been published in Convergence, Missouri Review, Ranger, Literary Orphans and other lit mags.