After eating spaghetti and sausage in Little Italy, on the edge of Chinatown, my lady wanted to shop. I waited outside while she looked at Buddhas for her collection. I watched the Bowery scene, the old brick architecture and the languages garbled together like chicken bones clogging up a garbage disposal. In a shop window I saw squirming eels, green yellow frogs, and sardines in soy sauce, next to a television displaying someone getting a foot massage and acupuncture. My toes started feeling like caterpillars frying in olive oil. A huge fat Italian moke with a turd looking cigar stuck in his pie hole hogged up the sidewalk with his big bushy tailed red assholed dog. He trudged and stomped like he was King motherfucking Kong, looking for a challenge. A lithe little Chinaman, Bruce Lee type with a tiny brown nondescript dog tried to avoid any action, to no avail. The fight was on. The ninja dog grabbed the wop dog by the nuts and did some canine Kung Fu. It was thing of beauty, blood and fur flying high. I saw lots of gleaming meat cleavers and long knives coming out. I called my woman and said, let’s scram. She asked, what have you done now. I just laughed.

*

Catfish McDaris has been getting published widely for 20 years. He’s a journeyman bricklayer and retired postal worker. His best selling chapbook is Prying, with Jack Micheline and Charles Bukowski. His 20th chapbook: Making Love To The Rain is now available. Catfish McDaris can also be found at CatfishGringoRiver.blogspot.com