Night fishing with Felix the Cat
a Sheephead is flopping on concrete
pulled out of the soup over the sea wall
behind Cobo Hall where the Mothers
of Invention just finished doing a show.
It’s a swallowed-the-hook dilemma
with the 20 pound test line tangled
in the landing net and lead sinker
with Felix loaded on ludes
struggling with needle nose pliers
I waltz over with a flash to spotlight
the oral surgery & gullet probing
when a crowd of hippies gather
goggle eyed and loud chanting
about Mud Sharks & Trout Masks.
Felix gets distracted by a girl
in a halter & mini & he starts up
singing Watch me, Watch me, I got it…
when he tugs at the silver fish too hard
out comes the hook & digs in his forearm.
His little Queenie jumps back teetering
on her platform heels to move off
with her gang while kicking over a row
of green bottles of Mickey’s Big Mouths
our lineup of dead soldiers Clink, Clink, Clink.
About Mark James Andrews:
Mark James Andrews is the author of Burning Trash (Pudding House, 2010). His writing has appeared in many print & online venues. You can look it up. An excerpt of his slowly progressing novel, Babes and Flashlights in Cemetery Land, appeared in Red Fez. Check it out: http://www.redfez.net/redfez/SubPage1.php?page=SubStory&ID=199
