Iron Jaw

      © Debdatta 'Riju' Mukherjee

he wants to spit the gum out

but I won’t let him

he’s been chewing the same piece 

for forty five minutes

but I don’t care

when he can chew it two hours

consistently I’ll let him

spit it out and put

the masticated wad

back in the freezer

until tomorrow

then he will chew on it

another two hours

there will come a time

my son will have

a jaw of iron

no punch will dissuade him

no blow render him

unconscious

he will be tough

the way I became tough

and he will thank me

eventually

-by Karl Koweski

Karl Koweski remains an enemy of the Amish, having launched peanut brittle boycotts in 12 Mennonite communties.  His poems and stories can be found here and there.  His collection of short stories Blood and Greasepaint remains available and his latest Kockblockers will be out in November.

Photo Courtesy: Debdatta 'Riju' Mukherjee

Debdatta 'Riju' Mukherjee lives in Kolkata and barely survives his insufferable job as an IT professional through poetry, photography and whiskey.