poem of the day 07.30.13

the funniest movie i’ve seen in a long time

my brother and i were obsessed

with stallone’s first blood

we’d seen it dozens of times

which was a feat for kids

and an r-rated film back then

but we used to set the alarm

to catch it at three in the morning

or we’d be bold and wait for the old man to fall asleep

then we’d quietly watch it in the living room

as he snored and restlessly worked the couch

i learned how to program a vcr

so that i could set it to tape first blood

in the middle of the night

that way we always had it

by the time my folks caught on to this

there was really no stopping it

we’d seen the movie too many times to forget the violence

seen stallone pushed around by the cops

and then seeking his revenge upon the town ad nauseum

when the second first blood came out

it was no surprise that my brother and i wanted to see it

we ran into the room like maniacs

from wherever we were in the house

to watch the ads of rambo taking down vietnamese soldiers

and saving p.o.w.’s by the handful

roaring with pleasure

as he blew up everything in his path

my old man shook his head at us and said

you just can’t hold an m-60 with one hand

he knew because he was in vietnam

still, it was a surprise to us when he agreed

to take us to see the film

we didn’t go to the movies that much

i knew who luke skywalker’s old man was

months before i saw empire strikes back

we came, we saw, we kicked its ass

was already a neighborhood mantra

before my family saw ghostbusters

such suburban problems

but still my brother and i were jacked to go

the movie was everything we’d dreamed it would be

the carnage was almost beautiful in its execution

stallone had done it again

a reluctant hero killing by the scores

as pure and rugged and right as america was to me

with those eleven year-old eyes

but while my brother and i watched the film

watched stallone give it to those vietnamese

and bring all of those soldiers back home

i couldn’t help but hear

my old man laughing to himself

throughout the film

occasionally i’d look over and catch him chuckle

or shake his head at the screen

i kept trying to figure out what he was laughing at

but i couldn’t

on the ride home

my brother and i wouldn’t shut up

about the movie

rambo putting the right end note to the vietnam era

you know, the way it should’ve been

with america on the winning side

when my dad started laughing again

what? i asked him

is so funny?

nothing, he said,

as we pulled into the driveway

with visions of blood and guts

dancing in my impressionable head

it’s just the funniest movie that i’ve seen in a long

my old man said

then he went inside to watch baseball

while my brother and i stood in the yard

all hot and bothered

with cinematic violence

as red, white, and blue as any two kids

chomping at the bit in the dull suburbs