my favorite uncle

after twelve years, uncle donnie shows up at my door on a saturday evening. other than his pallid skin, and a scar that zig-zags from his right earlobe to the corner of his mouth, he looks fit and trim.

over steaks and bourbon, he asks if i remember that day. before i can thank him, he says, "forget it kid. it's enough that you're feeding me. these are different times. i got a new plan now." he offers no specifics, and i don't ask. we finish our dinner in silence.

on the driveway, he scans the house, and slaps me lightly on the cheek. "you did good for yourself kid. you did real good. now tell me, who's your favorite uncle?"

on parole
the tedium
of dinner conversation

Ed Markowski resides in Auburn Hill, Michigan.

His work has appeared in The Birmingham Poetry Review, Blind Man's Rainbow, Bear Creek Haiku, Bottle Rockets, Brevities, The Elysian Fields Baseball Quarterly, Fan Magazine, Heron's Nest, MayFly, Modern Haiku, Nerve Cowboy, The Parnassus Literary Journal, Raw Nervz Haiku, The River Rouge Examiner, Sho Magazine, Short Stuff, Slow Trains, and Snapshots.

His poetry was first published by City Magazine in 1978, and has been featured on Detroit Public Radio.

Copyright 2005: Simply Haiku