c o n v e r g e n c e:
an online journal of poetry & art


WINTER 2015 ISSUE


REMEMBRANCE by Rosario Romero

REMEMBRANCE by Rosario Romero



BRINGING IN A PRO
by William S. Gainer

At what age
should a guy start thinking
seriously
about getting his obituary
portrait taken?
I for one
hate it
when they have to use
your mugshot photo,
or the picture of you drunk
at the river
pissing in the water
while slamming another beer.
Dignity,
that's what I'm looking for —
dignity.
If the text is going to be
a bunch of made-up dribble:
He lived to be 107,
survived 9 heart transplants
left a pregnant wife.
He was always generous
with the pigeons.
Christ, we loved him.
then you might as well
bring in a pro
get your picture taken
with a fresh haircut,
your mustache trimmed,
a clean shirt,
smiling without the cigarette,
and maybe holding a baby —
even if you have to borrow one,
a baby would be good.
That's what I'm talking about.
Upping the stakes,
raising the bar —
Looking like a bank
president
sitting on a crate
of hundred dollar bills.
Making them all say
I didn't know . . .

















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