Vicksburg

my dad won an award
for taking a picture
of a one-eyed dog
eating a loaf of bread
in chechnya
in the background
a burning man
is running away from a tank
my mother found me
looking at the picture
she took it away
and said
go brush your teeth
it’s time for bed
mom hates the picture
my mom met my dad
when she was in law school
mom told me
she fell for him
while his band
the philistines played
loving her is easier
than anything i’ll ever do again
in a bar in
vicksburg mississippi
that’s where my mom was born
dad’s a great
steel guitarist
he was in mississippi
writing a book
about ulysses s. grant
he never finished it
it’s pretty good
i read it when i was ten
i think my mom
loves my dad
more than he loves her
i talked to my dad
on the phone last week
i asked him what happened
to the dog in the picture
he said i’m not sure bud
i was in kind of a hurry
i hope he’s okay i said
me too kid
my dad hasn’t been home
in two years
mom says
he’s gone native