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Drinks@the Last Cafe Chapter 7

Gears and clock image for Drinks@the Last Cafe

VII

Outrage meets opportunity
the confluence of Anger and Talent.
 
It’s not like the peasants were never armed. 
It’s not like they couldn’t read a bus schedule.
today they stole it all  
the city of walls easily breeched
whole collections of CEOs disappeared in seconds  
gold parachutes do not open quickly
when thrown from the highest floor
 
It was a good moment,
a glorious moment
then the tide receded 
leaving beached cities, begging for air
temporary assistance.
too big to fail
except everything was too big   
 
the most neglected become the most angry
and in the end – they shattered the sky
using old plutonium with new resentment
 
The girl threw out a handful of dust
the grit blew away like starlings
fear into flying
she found herself on the web her legends lifted  
re-purposed badly  
can I fix these?  she complained.
there isn’t enough electricity  
Sam squinted at the sluggish blades  
 
she continued to search for her gods
over the Sierras    
the bone yards of wrecked trains  
accordioned against the base of the mountain blackberries and poison oak
gold bars, black cooking pans
red parkas in summer
blue sandals in winter
 
The air was as transparent as a myth
she could melt her wax wings
under the implacable sky
squatted down and ran a finger over a solid bar so pretty; so insistent – take me, drink me
 
But after a few miles, too much
you could exchange the notebooks for it:
it’s valuable  
all her notes fluttering
like the hawks after hitting a windmill
no, no, the stories stay.
 
She slid the bar out and it landed with a thump and puff of dust
he bent and shaved off a handful of wrinkled foil
lighter than air
heavy as greed.
 
This is one of eight chapters of Drinks @ the Last Cafe.
 
You can get a complimentary copy of the entire poem by leaving a helpful review for my new book, Deep Trouble
 
Notify me when you’ve posted the review – cbramkamp (at) gmail (dot) com and I will send you the ebook version along with my sincere thanks.
 
Thank you!

CatharineBramkamp

Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach and author. She has published over 300 newspaper and magazine articles in publications like Modern Maturity (AARP), SF Chronicle and Santa Rosa Magazine. She was a contributor to two Chicken Soup Books and has published anthologies of her work, non-fiction works and novels. Her work has also appeared in a number of poetry and fiction anthologies. She has experimented with the self-publishing world since 2001. She has published and self-published seven books through companies like Author House, author assist companies like 3L Publishing and through traditional publishers like Write Life. Her poetry collection, Ammonia Sunrise, will be released in August 2011 by Finishing Line Press and her mystery novel, In Good Faith will be released by Write Life in 2011. Catharine holds a BA in English from UCSB and a MA in English from Sonoma State University. She is a 25 year member of California Writer’s Club. She is an adjunct professor for the University of Phoenix. She works with authors of both fiction and non-fiction to make their dream of producing a book come true. For more information on that, visit her at www.YourBookStartsHere.com Catharine has lived in Sonoma County for 25 years and considers wine a food group. She is married to an adorable and very patient man who complains he’s never featured in any of her books. Her grown children who are featured in a few of her books have fled the county.

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