Kilgore Trout in Oklahoma

Kilgore Trout in Oklahoma

There were donuts in those days,

and commodities spaghetti. Phones

lived on walls, and they waited

at home to be called.

Kilgore was a tall man,

but you wouldn’t know unless he stood

up. He had a dog once. And a wife. Sometimes

he misses the dog.

His father lived in a trailer in his mom’s yard.

They were working on their third

divorce. The neighbors were aliens, waiting

for something good on the satellite dish.

His fans are vermin. He lives

in a basement apartment

in Muskogee. He is an olive

in a world of cherries.