Reading: When This is Over

“I am for the law, cousin.  Is there another side?” 
— John Adams (apocryphal)

When this is 
Over, I want
Only a few things

I want the State to 
Pass you by, pass
So far from you that

You will have to 
Drive an hour
To see the meter-deep
Craters left by its
 
Slow square feet, see
Water piled in the holes, see
Cottonmouths in that water, 
Mosquitos breeding

You will have that
Afternoon, or even the
Rest of your life, to 
Wonder where the Monster
Headed, whom it was
Hunting, served to the
Rest of your days
By official indifference

And
I want your sleep
To meet your doctor’s 
Recommended amount, for

You to be found
Surprised at seeing your 
Eightieth birthday, for your 

Grandchildren to return
All your doting attention

And
I want
No harm to you, friend;
No, to you
Only the impressed fact that

Your baiting and luring
Of the Monster, your
Turn at its tiller, 
Had me awake all night, 
Every night, asking 
Where and 
When
To run

May 2025