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Phil Taggart Poet

Phil Taggart PoetPhil Taggart PoetPhil Taggart Poet

Rick Sings & Walking the Dog In a Time of Rage

Rick Sings & Walking the Dog In a Time of Rage Rick Sings & Walking the Dog In a Time of Rage

Little Ricky passed September 13, 2017

Rick Sings

a star rises above the gazebo in Plaza Park

bright   shiny   new


the police review tickets

get their stories straight

sleeping in public

open containers

they turn the sprinklers on

disperse the homeless

10 days before Christmas


at Busy Bee   Rick sings Patsy Cline   quietly lovingly


he tells me Jack’s in Whittier

has the best ever French Toast

Jack’s had mom’s favorite salad

with blue cheese


we talk about the rain

his friend living in the riverbottom


he asks about Steve

I don’t tell him Tessa died

no reason to


we walk back to his place

past the park

the sprinklers are on


Two Birds


Rick has two baby birds

nested on a plate

near the window

in his room


one is already dead

the other will die soon


he found them

comforts them

talks to them


he says maybe

the bird woman

will come back to help


tomorrow Rick will

bury the birds

not throw them in the trash


we sit awhile and

then I go home


Rick Tells Me

a six-pack

of O’Doul’s

equals

a half a can

of Bud


we’re in my

front room talking

I give him

coffee a sweatshirt

cigarette money


he hasn’t smelled

of alcohol

since the fall

that broke his

arm


he’s living in

a house with

other mental health

consumers

one sleeps all day

and night and eats

another smokes rock

another points his

finger and goes

bang bang


Rick says

it beats the cold

but he has

scoped out

a tin shack

behind

the car wash

just in case





Chump Change

Rick’s sipping

a fast food soda

he’s pulled out

of a trash can

in Plaza Park


the soda falls back

into the trash

as he sees me


nothing is said


he got his Medi-Cal back

received his injection

two days ago


I hand him a remote

for the TV in his room

and some money

he calls chump change


Rick told me

he had the perfect dream

last night


not the usual nightmares


he tells me, sometimes

the injection leaks out his arm

into his clothes


he smells it for days


I thumb past

the lottery ticket

in my wallet

to hand him a card

with my number on it


he dreamed he was eating

Walking in the Rain

two days ago

I kicked four people out

of Rick’s room


yesterday

a guy tried to get in

when Rick opened the door

for me


it’s cold and raining


when the storm clears

the Topa Topas will glisten snow

the sunny days wind chilled


Rick quick-times through the rain

he’s agitated - Kimberly has taken over his room


when we open his door


she’s wrapped in blankets

the top one

a baby’s swaddling cloth

covered with blue satin

teddy bears


she slowly rises

puts her shoes on

places his stuffed animals

back on the bed

and walks out the door

He’s With Me

At the bank Rick waits

sitting in a chair

while I’m in line


he’s hunched down

trying to be invisible

as the security guard approaches


he says to the guard,

The paintings are nice


Rick’s pretty grubbed out


I’d like him to bathe more, wash his clothes,

clean his room, not drink so much


I’d like to tell him about my problems,

talk politics, art, watch a game with him


I yell out to the guard,

He’s with me. He’s my brother.


Copyright © 2022 Phil Taggart Poet - All Rights Reserved.

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