by R.T. Castleberry —
Henna hair, a burning Lucky Strike,
rescue dog in her bag,
she walks bright into the bar,
gestures with smile and sunglasses,
and is gone to a streetside table.
Tumbling her purse in searching,
she’s taken a photo of defeated guidons,
Photoshopped blue.
It gestures toward Li Po for a title,
the narrative of its evolution.
She’ll issue it with broadsides,
manifestos for a caring revolution.
Mani-pedi matching,
she slips out of her shoes,
hands conjuring illusions over Cabernet.
People like me, she smiles.
They follow at a discreet distance all day.
She takes her cell phone, films
cop cars as they cruise the lot.
Loosed from her lap,
the dog pulls at his leash.
Leaning over, she growls to him:
Resist.
R.T. Castleberry is a widely published poet and critic. His work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Santa Fe Literary Review, Comstock Review, Green Mountains Review, The Alembic and Pedestal Magazine and has been featured in the anthologies, Travois-An Anthology of Texas Poetry, TimeSlice, The Weight of Addition, Anthem: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen and Blue Milk’s anthology, Dawn. His work has also been published in Canada, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and Antarctica. His chapbook, Arriving At The Riverside, was published by Finishing Line Press. An e-book, Dialogue and Appetite, was published by Right Hand Pointing.