H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

MICHAEL PINGARRON

the tale of the poltergeist 12/18/04

we all know his name

but we seldom see him

tho he’s present

he wears a camouflage

suit he’s a chair

a desk an answering

machine a wastepaper

basket

he’s been hired to do

what no one else will

he’s silently present

in our dreams he’s

the hatchet man of

our nightmares

he thinks he’s honorable

he gets the job done

moving human beings

by haunting them

out of the way

he’s the curse controller

for a monstrous school board

that diets on teachers

he’s infamous

he thinks he’s invincible

he’s protected by a

mysterious employer

who rents him out

he’s a janitor who sweeps

away anyone disposable

he shrugs his shoulders

it’s his business to be the beast

and enjoy it he’ll chew up

anyone in his way he’s

immune to pesticides

his name is well known

marble floors crack

when it’s uttered

hordes of people flee

to escape his wrath

he’s a relation to the plague

the eradication of people

are notches on his belt

he handles every crisis

surreptitiously

he takes no prisoners

he’s the incarnation

of a lingering disease

* * *

[Originally published in NHS 2005, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs05/michael_pingarron.html.]