The Art of Tetman Callis

where am i in a world that goes only round and round

where am i under night-time helicopters
and every next-door dog at bark

where am i under hand claps just outside the bathroom window
and sounds of pistol fire from two-three blocks away

another helicopter flies over
september’s nights are too warm
spiders climb the walls

neighbor-boys play basketball and laugh is where they are

laughing and playing in a world that goes only round and round

(Published in High Street: Lawyers, Guns & Money in a Stoner’s New Mexico (2012, Outpost 19); copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)