Homage to Al
It had always liked aluminum foil,
although it wondered if its faith
would have wavered if foils of other
metals had been readily available.
It had been a rocketman one year
for trick-or-treating, and even though
the glass jar it had used for a helmet
had gotten stuck on its head, requiring
a trip to the emergency room, it had
become obsessed with the crinkling
rustle of aluminum against its skin,
and always wore a roll or two layered
beneath its clothes. Usually it would
take at least two weeks for substantial
gaps to open, and then, disgustedly,
it would unveil and disrobe and begin
the tedious process of removing
the ruined foil, using the debris to
create more 4-inch rodent figurines
to add to its collection and then
rewrapping itself from rolls it had
sensibly purchased in bulk.
F. J. Bergmann frequents Wisconsin and fibitz.com, and claims to have an MFA from the School of the Americas. Previous occupations include used-book seller, rural postal carrier, illustrator of a manual of interesting diseases, steeplechaser, and failed visual artist. Further attainments include the 2008 Rhysling Award and a third chapbook, Constellation of the Dragonfly (Plan B Press 2008). Both the hairstyle and demeanor are deceptive.
