Leather Medicine

Somebody in black snuck up on John Wayne
and slipped him a Viagra—goddamn
if he didn’t jump to attention
like Green Berets come back for one of their own,
good soldier roaring through the jungle with a machete
and a canteen of cocaine cola

I got a blue steel bayonet ripping through my pants;
My army is advancing—
my incubi are sucking the world and blood
is flowing into me so quickly
I get a buzz

Mr. Charlie he get angry
if a television go hungry and unloved;
I am sure I can do better:
take names, kill prisoners,
move this beast into position—
a bigger headfuck for the generation mindset,
a bigger minivan, baby carseat, entertaiment video wall
to induce impotence and create
a new market for this wonder
of wonder drugs

Mr Wayne jack open his fly—this accomplishment
the pride of fifteen years of leather chaps and fake machine
gunning on the soundstage of the American mind—
collective enemy back up and around the corner waiting for a handout;
last we seen of them was in a nostalgia war picture—
we must find new enemies,
look harder, dig deeper for some freakshow longhair we can parade
out into light of day with a record contract, lottery millions
flaking down from darkening sky as America turns inside out
hoping to goad their latest children into the arms of red white and blue

we’ve been waiting all our
lives for the new beetle, a love bug
we can call our own and then trip off to California
with a hurricane rising; this new Viagra will go good
with those naugahyde seats; I can feel my easy-fit chap leathers
squeaking against those sweat soaked seats,
and the girls in back with thumbs out
begging to pull over and pull off

John Wayne makes another turn and Bonnie
and Clyde cut him off with a line of tommy bullets
across the chest—shoulda brought his tourniquet, no time
to piss in the wounds—the young lovers
get away with
everything

Jeff Bagato is a multi-media artist living near Washington, DC, Jeff Bagato produces poetry and prose as well as electronic music, and glitch video. Some of his poetry has appeared in Empty Mirror, Futures Trading, Otoliths, H&, Ex-Ex Lit, and Zoomoozophone Review. His published books include Savage Magic (poetry), Cthulhu Limericks (poetry), The Toothpick Fairy (fiction), and Computing Angels (fiction). A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found by clicking here…