poem of the days 12.26.10-12.27.10

i may or may not be on haitus until the new year

the asshole

he is a little man
in a little coat
with a little hat
a brooklyn wiseguy
smoking his cigarette in the wind
when we come outside
of the apartment
to load our holiday bags
into our rental car
he tells us
that we parked too close
to his driveway
he says that if he wanted
to get his car out
he’d have to ride over the curb
i paid a lot of money
for this place
he says
smoking his little cigarette
and tugging on his coat
my wife apologizes to him
i apologize too
but it’s not enough for the little man
our apology is too small for him
he has to tell us again
about our rental car
parked too close to his driveway
about how much he paid for it
he stands next to me
while my wife takes
his little note off the windshield
before she moves the car across the street
why don’t you buy your own spot?
he asks, walking away
it’s people like you
always putting one over
on guys like me
that fucks this whole world up, he says
thanks for sharing that
i say to the little man
he squints his beady eyes
he takes another drag
on his little smoke
tugs on his little hat
with arms that seem to small
to reach his head
listen, buddy, he says
walking back over to me
i think that this man wants
to fight me
he is napoleon going after
waterloo again
i’m trying to be nice, here,
he says
but you
you gotta go and be an asshole
how come?
i shrug
then the little man
tosses his smoke into the wind
it blows back at us
rolls down the street
and falls into a small crevice
between the concrete
in front of the house
owned by another asshole
who blasts his music
all summer long
and lives with his bitch wife
and their ugly dog.