Collateral Damage

Al Ferber

Description

Hard as it is to believe, I was born. Been all down hill since then. One piece of shrapnel after another. Went to school. Work at jobs. Wrote a lot, drank a lot, painted a lot. And hard as it is to believe, found a woman who gets me. Her wrapping is a bit loose as well, of course. Worse than that I get her and there doesn’t seem to be a way out.

Sujets

• Poetry

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 24 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669856696
• Langue: English

Extrait

Collateral DAMAGE








AL FERBER



Copyright © 2022 by Al Ferber.

ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-5668-9
eBook
978-1-6698-5669-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All poems in this book previously appeared in Mangle/zine or Evolution of an Accidental Painting and are reprinted here with my permission.
Al Ferber Author, Editor, Publisher

Cover Art by Al Ferber
Introduction by Al Ferber





Rev. date: 11/21/2022





Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
848228



CONTENTS
Introduction

From Top To Bottom
Jimmy Collins
Joe Holt
Blood in The Rain
1969



INTRODUCTION
The whole damn thing is Collateral Damage. We, every last one of us, are Collateral Damage. Life is one huge chunk of Collateral Damage. The planet itself is Collateral Damage, inflicted by us Barbarians. This book is filled with Collateral Damage. Have fun In the junk pile.
Al Ferber



*
and then
I was pretty sure
not certain
but
pretty sure
the whole
damn thing
was
shot to hell
*
I been
accused
of
carrying
a lit
m-80
in my
back
pocket



*
Willy did
his
herky jerky
haldol
dance
on his way
down stairs
at
Tangier Cafe
to
take a pee
almost
every
afternoon
*
I blew my
horn
once
and as
Willy
once said
a lot
came out



*
the horn
of the car
in the
parking lot
is
creating
mayhem
n
laughing
about it
*
she dwells in
a
hidden valley
an odd
side show
of mountain
miscreants
&
ne'erdowells
untethered
by the world



*
she's doing
her
own
war paint
rain dance
inside
her
own tornado
*
she believes
in
everything
unbelievable
and
nothing
at all
cute trick
*



*
when you
get famous
pissing
on
the floor
is a stroke
of genius
*
ok, ok
you think
Picasso
hit a
fucking
home
run
every time
he stepped
up to
the
plate?
*



*
Opus 39.5
got a nice
ring
to it
don't
ya think
*
nine months
solitary
confinement
no lights
no yard time
no one
to talk to
went
bat shit crazy
then
thrown into
the world
without
a nickle or
a dime
I got born
greeted
with a smack
on the ass



*
kid
skateboards
across
a parking lot
a car
doesn't
see him
no kid
no
skateboard
no more
*
never been called
either
rapscallion
or rake
shit piss goddamn
mother fucker
but wish I had
*



From Top To Bottom
Gus said the city was
a collection of peaks
and valleys caverns of
metal glass concrete
mortar stone brick
black top trolley tracks
cobble stones stop signs
traffic lights dark sewer
lines subway tunnels
hidden civilizations of
roaches and hungry rats
with a smattering of
people here and there
trying to manage family
live carve out careers
of one sort or another
eke out an education
conduct wild or presumptive
love affairs practice
the odd religion here
and there basking under
street lights and neon signs



*
so then I went
running
balls naked
across
the
parking lot
singing
"first I look
at the purse"
*
Dude was
mercurial
prone to
spontaneous
unprovoked
rage
had to face
him down
on numerous
occasions
in my office
classic case
BPD
boarder line
personalty
disorder
prognosis:grim



*
wrestling match
with ghosts
of the past
in progress here
now
sent for
reinforcements
but none
have arrived
prognosis: grim
*
so the guy said
Halloween
ain't what
it used to be
they're chipping
away at all
of our traditions
you know, they
aka them
the bastards



*
so I went
without a guide
without
a chaperone
without
a body guard
without
a crossing guard
into the depths
of a tale
I dared not tattle
before
and found myself
nibbling around
the edges
of a demise of sorts
but as per usual
I didn't. and now
the tale has been
rightly tattled
*
During the storm
the other night
I was killed
by a cat propelled
by the fierce wind.
Is it too late for me
to get an absentee
ballot for the election?
*



*
We are an amazing bunch.
We know who God is,
what he wants, what color
people he likes, what teams
in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL
he likes, we know who he
supported in the last election
we know what he doesn't want,
who's gonna get saved
and who's goin to hell.
We are so Fucking amazing
I can scarcely believe it! Or
is it arrogant and full of shit?
*
Doctor said
my
cranial stew
has
passed
its
expiration
date
*



*
Look, the dog shit
on my lawn,
so I went out and
shit on the dog.
What else was I
supposed to do?
*
the pumpkin
rode
the back
of a
black
widow spider
through
a
garden
of
bugged
glowing eyes
*



*
Trolley cars
ran
on electricity.
No noxious
fumes.
So we
got rid of them.
*
I have an alarming
and unsettling
announcement
to make.
Everything and I
mean everything
is fucked up!!!!!!



*
She was second born
of nine children
wanted desperately
out of the house
still in love with the guy
who fled to Canada
to avoid the draft and
wouldn’t marry her so
she didn't go with him
He wanted to marry her
because she liked
the same movies and read
the same books
A perfect match.
Don’t you think?
*



Jimmy Collins
I remember Jimmy Collins
fat n jolly Jimmy Collins
from the men’s clothier
emporium located on the
open air shopping mall
In my,
then, neck of the woods
my salesman guru
surrogate father, patron
bar mate, drinking partner
literary critic
inspiration for the jolly jelly
roll blues
bought me breakfast lunch
and dinner on the job
give'd me a genuine
red convertible Karmann Ghia
held together with bubble gum
and duct tape with dish rags
as lining filler for the top
a for real bohemian passing
for an average citizen
kind of a friend everyone
should at least once
at the very least for a little while.



*
Answering Machine Message
I never did like you
DON’T
leave a message
*
She called me at work
“Why haven’t you called me
I’ve turned down offers
from two other guys
who wanted to take me
out to dinner”
“You should have said yes.
I told you I don’t have that
kind of money. I said
I would call you tonight.
It’s 7 o’clock.
By my calculations there
are 5 more hours of tonight.
Good night.”



*
he came into my office
for a level of treatment
assessment for alcohol
abuse
her drink of choice.......
“Mouth Wash”
I didn’t have the heart
to ask which brand
*
you wanna know
what it is
where it’s from
and
why it stays
but all is mum
and not
coughing up
the information



*
fortuitous
events
some
times
happen
to the
worst of us
*
I do have
a
talent
for
glorious
missteps
*
and so
I am freed
of
the
bondage
of
constant
regret



*
my opus
my
symphony
is composed
not
of ticks
but
of
muscle
convulsions
*
the squirt
bottles
of paint