Editor’s Note: This is the 2nd in a series of poems by Victor Clevenger about his son, nicknamed “The Milkman”
$5.00 Wok
a $5.00 wok was a helluva steal
an after christmas deal
sitting over the flame
for the first time
on new year’s morning
it’s the milkman’s birthday breakfast
three pounds of pork sausage
browned crumbled glistening in grease
i antique it with flour
stir it until coated
reach over
take the eggs off the griddle
biscuits out the oven
grab the milk &
dump two cups on the meat
goddammit!
white liquid hit the bottom
& as soon as the plastic spoon
made its first clockwise rotation
the black coating on the pan
floated in flakes to the top
goddammit!
black flakes now bigger
than sausage crumbles
i call the milkman to the kitchen
& show him the gravy
whatcha gonna do he asks
& i think about it
then tell him
it’s like the ol’ sayings
. . . . like a turd in a punchbowl
or
. . . . like a trump in the white house
some things just aren’t salvageable
so i guess
we throw it out
& begin again
About the Author: When not traveling on highways across America, Victor Clevenger spends his days in a Madhouse and his nights writing poetry. He lives with his second ex-wife, and together they raise children in a small town northeast of Kansas City, MO. Selected pieces of his work have appeared in print magazines and journals around the world, as well as at a variety of places online. He is the author of several collections of poetry including Sandpaper Lovin’ (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2017), A Finger in the Hornets’ Nest (Red Flag Poetry, 2018), and Corned Beef Hash By Candlelight (Luchador Press, 2019).
More By Victor Clevenger:
Image Credit: Ann Rosener “”Share The Meat” recipes. Baked bean loaf.” (1942) The Library of Congress
As It Ought To Be 