Anthony Liccione

The Mirror I Wish Not Have Gazed

It was August
during the hottest peak-
driving out thoughts
when I ran into Satan.
Literally, I collided
into his lanky frame
with my oily engine.

As I recall-
just a few hours before,
mosquitoes were biting
and wolves' howling
when I was out with friends
you could say, raising hell.
The moon was full
of mistakes, stars lined
and lied to the sky
as cocaine lines a mirror,
the cornfields gazed
in another time zone-
we reveled, nevertheless.

He bounced off my fender
like the paddle of a pinball
machine, striking the metal
walls of hell, balled in sin.
When I flew out the door,
I was vague for a minute
to see the dent in my car
and cat-like scratches
racing the hood-
I jumped back in my car
and hauled, or should I say-
as fast as a drunk can drive.
Leaving, what I thought
was a man, thrown twenty
feet in the wheat fields,
face down in dirt-
elbow twisted toward
the plum sky.
And I ask why? Why
was he running in the middle
of God knows where-
some countryside street
dark as day at 2am
where no lights burned.
Seemed he were running
from some demons.

He appeared out of nowhere
wearing no reflectors
or white clothing, just that
fuck-blind black suit
and a red tie of all things
to wear in the heat.

It was a few years later,
he came strolling on my
porch, smoking a cigar
in his black suit, white cuffs-
where I sat writing a poem. And said,
See you patched that dent in your car
while pulling his tie up
and lowing his head
to one side acting
as if being lynched.

Ever hear of Robert Frost?
I shook an estranged yes.
Would you believe if I told
you he's in hell burning today?
He then pal-tapped my shoulder
and laughed his head off saying,
that was the day hell froze over.
don't lose your appeal-
he then turned away,
swaying his hips
as a tuneless violin.

Had I known it was
my father I ran over,
I'd have backed it up
and ran him over
again and again-
but that's another story.

Anthony Liccione has been writing poetry for 12 years. His poetry has appeared in: Melting Trees Review, Taj Mahal Review, Foliate Oak Online, Tamafyhr Mountain Poetry, Scrivener's Pen and other publications. Poetry is scheduled to appear in The Stump, Meeting of the Minds Journal, Words Dance, The Surface, HazMat Review, Liquid Muse Quarterly, The Real Eight View and a Pushcart Nomination set for November 2004.