Run from the Disillusionary Take 2

Run from the Disillusionary Take 2 by Barbara E. Spidell circa 1983 Category: Writing and Poetry
RUN FROM THE DISILLUSIONARY TAKE 2
By Barbara Ellen Spidell

He sat at the table
talking on the phone
apparently angered
definitely alone

He demanded his money, said he didn't work for free, said he felt taken advantage of, and didn't want to be.
He slammed the phone down on the reciever, and then he checked for change, it a cigarette and started to write. I knew he was estranged.
People around stood, grabbed their kids and stared, made for the door quickly, and I knew they had to be scared.
Refrain: People run so often, they know not what to do. What you are running away from is a part of me and you.

He crumpled up his work, and scooped up the burnt butts, then proceeded towards the door, with his coffee cup.
I picked up his empty cigarette box, and his writings too and looked closely at his scribbles, what I found would shock you.

It was a military strategy, some sort of plan.
X's marked those he'd shot,
each X was a man.

There wer code words too:
brown, town, mouse.
The words ryhmed, sounding most poetic.
city, green, house.

Maybe I interpret too well, or my own mind is overworked, but I tell you- I know it was, and it is not just some strange quirk.

What I neglected to tell you, was that I worked at Burger King.
Keeping up the dining room, and I was just fourteen and:
The phone he talked upon wasn't even real.
He wasn't aware he was there.
That fact he could not conceal.

Refrain: Oh people run so often.....