AMERICAN CHAPERONES

        By Alina J. Gregorian


        We adore the american chaperones. Articles
        of american madness. Chaperone americans
        drive caravans to bowling alleys. They say,
        "darling pistol" and "lunch on the rocks." We
        throw toothpicks at them behind fake shrubbery.
        We critique the way they wax their caravans
        how they drink their beer how they choose
        mauve seat cushions. We do this until foam
        hammers stick out of their mouths and their hair.
        Still they drink their beer. They pour it down
        their throats and say amen. Oh american
        chaperones. Articles of american madness,
        drink your america. The loggerheads will steal
        your shoes. Drink before your tattoos fall off.
        Drink your country soaked in foosball sweat.
        Toast yourselves, american chaperones, and
        pour your finest country down your throats.


--
Alina J. Gregorian is a graduate student at The New School. Her poems
can be seen in Pax Americana. She lives in Brooklyn NY.