The Ju-Ju Man
by Pasquale Capocasa
Who's the Ju-Ju Man?
Two drinks into the new bottle
I glanced up and into the bar
mirror to see a man standing
behind me, leaning heavily
on a slender, wooden pole.
Odd, I thought.
I poured another drink,
glad to see I had stopped shaking,
and raised it to my lips.
With unbelievable agility,
the man in the mirror hit me
twice across the back
with the flat side of a canoe paddle.
Whap! Whap! Just like that!
Who the hell was that? I asked,
as I pulled myself
painfully up the stool.
Wha-? Who? replied the bartender,
looking at me in bemused wonder.
The man in the mirror, I said.
The bartender shrugged.
Must have been the ju-ju man,
he said, and shook his head
with some compassion;
but he took away the Jack
Daniels and added up my check.
I'm Not To Blame
believe me --
my aggressive,
hostile behavior
is directly linked
to the excessive
consumption of junk food,
and to the watching
of tv violence for
unreasonable
lengths of time.
Yes, I know --
you say
it could be my fault,
but ask
my social worker.
She'll tell you.
This simply isn't
the real me.
My environment is
convoluted; its own
byzantine behavior molding
Machiavellian doubles.
So you see,
I am not to blame.
