Mickey Mouse by Cody Clarke

Mickey Mouse
by Cody Clarke

He occupied two seats of the subway
his ass crack resting right on the split between them
and defended the territory
of the three empty and adjacent seats
against all trying occupants
with a
You can’t sit there
and the timbre of a science teacher
on the impossibility of time travel

His feet were moldy loaves of bread
his legs I forget
and his shirt was Mickey Mouse
large and proud
partially obscured by the cardboard sign
our man wore with string
like librarian glasses
stating simply and in Sharpie
that he loved New York
in words I also forget

I only saw him for the duration of one stop
and he kept quiet except for one burp
that was sort of loud
and then as we entered the station
he got up and waited at the doors
and as they opened he laid a fart
like a bass drum distorted beyond recognition
by a Japanese noise artist
and placed on limited vinyl
to be sold to indie kids
for the price of their allowance

and the man next to me whimpered
and clutched his newly bloody chest
because the fart had had a bullet in it
and the man died before the next stop

Everyone in the subway car went to the funeral
and we all stayed in contact after
and learned sign language together at the YMCA
and helped each other further with it on weekends

and my life is better now and we’re all happier as people