2011 - Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

8
Free
Amy Wilcosky
The Chicken Man
Stanley raised hell and chickens.
They squawked along the packed dirt floor
Of his musty garage,
Clucking and plucking at monkey wrenches
And Phillips head screwdrivers.
He’d raise them by one wing
So they bucked and spun in a
Frantic fan of feathers
But they never learned enough
To stay away for long.
There were more Budweiser cans than tools
Amongst the chickens in his garage.
The dizzying scent of his breath
Hit you harder than the cans he threw
When he shouted.
I tried to save a chicken once,
Lugged her in my skinny arms
Out of the back gate
Into unfenced freedom.
She gave me one quick flustered look
Before scratching her way back
Through the open gate
To the drunken man she loved.
Photograph
Kate Thompson
First Place – Poetry Competition
Ronald
Fix It Man
Henry Wang
So that’s scattered,
Smothered covered,
Chunked capped,
And country?
Sounds perfect.
It’ll be right out.
His name is Ronald,
According to the nametag,
But I know his name is Ronnie,
The same Ronnie who broke his arm,
Playing backyard football,
And was always waiting
Alone at the bus stop,
Because it was “anywhere but home.”
Need a refill on your coffee?
Asks Ronald,
Two years after Ronnie quit high school.
No thanks.
I can see it:
His pot gets heavier each night,
Filled with stale memories,
And fresh-brewed regrets,
His visor is a blinder,
His apron a strait jacket,
And his nametag a branding,
Of the man he’s been forced to become,
Waiting,
Hoping,
Begging for salvation,
From his personal purgatory,
Of fluorescent lights
And grease traps.
Daniel Eisler
Pen and ink