To the People at the Rec Center Who Back into a Parking Space

by John Dorroh

Perhaps you are a cop and trust no one, and always
sit in a restaurant facing the door. Maybe you’re bent
on practicing your backing-in skills to impress. I don’t
know if there’s something wrong with you or me, or why
any of us do such bizarre things.

 

It’s often a cluster, three or four in a row, like members
of a club who abide by the strict rules of accordance.
Maybe it’s the “sheep effect,” where they dislodge
their brains and repeat the behavior they observed without
giving it a second thought. But whatever it is, it certainly
has me baffled. I want to tell you QUIT but that’s
too militant for my style.

 

I want to ask you face-to-face why you do it, but I’m afraid
that you might pull out a gun and dare me to take a step
in any direction. Is it hurting anything, you might ask.
And all I’d have to retaliate with is my question-mark face
and my question-mark head and my fat hands in my pockets
fishing for the keys for a quick getaway.

 

John Dorroh understands that words are more than some magic potion, that words engage themselves with the soul. He appreciates the work that went into each and every poem he reads in journals by every author. He thanks them. Three of his poems have been nominated for Best of the Net. Others have appeared in over 100 fine journals such as Feral, River Heron, Pinyon, Burningword, The Orchards Poetry Journal, & North Dakota Quarterly. He had two chapbooks published in 2022.