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| Issue 9: | August 2021 |
| Poem: | 158 words |
By Brian Rihlmann
Laughing at Shadows
my friend T the atheist/communist is telling me my son has no God concept I’ve explained it’s just something people believe out of fear his son’s 13 and now T is slipping him small doses of Emma Goldman and his own theories about the second amendment and equal pay for doctors and dishwashers better be careful, I say or he’ll rebel by becoming a red hat wearin’ bible thumpin’ gun totin’ member of the young republicans’ club he stares off for a moment eyes hollow as his brain chews my words until he sees me laughing and joins in truth is— I don’t know why I’m laughing whether I’m joking or not but he thinks I am so I let him we laugh at gods and guns politics and death we point and laugh at their shadows keep our eyes fixed only there like children laughing at shadow puppet wolves that cannot bite them
Brian Rihlmann
lives and writes free verse poetry in Reno, Nevada. His work has appeared in many magazines, including The Rye Whiskey Review, The American Journal of Poetry, The Blue Nib, Cajun Mutt Press, Fearless, Heroin Love Songs, Chiron Review, Slipstream, and The Main Street Rag. His latest poetry collection, Night At My Throat, was published in 2020 by Pony One Dog Press.
More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond
⚡ Three Poems by Rihlmann in Cultural Daily (21 October 2020)
⚡ Book Review/Interview: Brian Rihlmann, Ordinary Trauma (Alien Buddha Press, 2019) by George Anderson in Bold Monkey Review (16 March 2020)
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