paranoia
poem by Karen R. Porter
don thinks the choppers
flying over his house
are looking for pot plants
growing in his backyard
he thinks a raid is imminent
and they’ll kick in his door
and tear the house apart
and shove his woman to the floor
and maybe shoot his dog
before confiscating his truck
he doesn’t know what would happen
if they took his truck
said he’d rather die than lose it
as he lights another cigarette
and paces through the moss
he dutifully mows once a week
i said if he doesn’t have pot plants
then why worry about it
if they were there
i would have seen them
but apparently this concept
is so rational it’s irrational
then another chopper passes overhead
checking for speeders on the freeway
and don cowers halfway to the ground
as he scuttles back inside
