MITCH RANEY

aaa

--(from The Very Very Depressive Journey of Jimmy Hotpants, Chapter 4)

When the damn ocelot leapt
into Jodie’s tuba bell I felt an
emotion that can be described
only as "shocked". That’s
a strange mute, I said nudging Jodie,
and then a mute slugged me
in the thigh, repositioning a sacred
relic. Don’t touch me there that’s where Peru
meets Boliva! I piped. And Sergio said,
Tell me what you know of the one
they call El Libertador else I stab
your piccolo, and he meant business.
Well, for one, you are no mute, senor,
and Bolivar has been called the "George
Washington del Sud America." For loving
my great grandfather I want to hug
you, jefe, said Sergio the Mute,
but when he leaned in, a tuft-eared lynx
fell right into Sergio’s arms
and he hugged it and took it home
in his Datsun Super Sport because
Sergio Bolivar was and still is blind,
but he managed to keep his lane
up Lafayette Ave. at least far as I
could see. Jodie asked, What’s a yellow
card. I said, It means to root louder
root louder, so she yelled BRAVO!