Mixed Fruit

by Michael Lambert

John Henry hammered a secret into my ear
& my fingers felt like the sound of murder.
He dropped dead from that machine
so I soaked him in sawdust
while I dipped my toes into a lake
whose name I can’t remember.

Tell me about the man made of wires.
The aluminum can calibrator.
The song that finally reached you.

When I came to & the gin
had taken my picture, there was a note:

If you cry hard enough
…………the drink will fill itself.

 *

Michael Lambert is currently living in Wisconsin.  His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Red River Review, Symmetry Pebbles and IMG.  In 2011 he was selected as a finalist in UW-Madison’s Lit Fest, and in 2012 was awarded the Thomas Hickey Creative Writing Award at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  At age 13 he reached his pinnacle, won the D.A.R.E. essay contest, and has yet to live up to that end.

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