| this is oh so blue A MAGAZINE OF FICTION, POETRY & MORE! |
| black |
| this is black shadow |
| ZYGOTE IN MY COFFEE.COM |
| ISSUE #33 $O.OO |
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| Feb. 2005 |
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| ZYGOTE IN MY COFFEE.COM |
| ***BIO*** D.B. Cox: DB Cox is a blues musician/poet born in Laurens, South Carolina. He now resides just outside of Boston in Watertown, Massachusetts.
He loves writing poetry for the same reason he loves playing the guitar -- a way to communicate how he feels, at a given time, on a given day. His poems have appeared in many literary publications, both on-line and in print. His first book “Passing For Blue” is now available from Rank Stranger Press. You can contact the publisher by Email at AWHITLEY2@nc.rr.com, or by regular mail at Rank Stranger Press, 313 Smith Chapel Rd., Mount Olive, NC 28365, Charles Whitley, editor. |
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| © 2005 zygoteinmycoffee Ink. |
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| Unaccustomed Mercy |
| by D.B. Cox |
| Jesse Christian hardly watches television anymore. He once watched the local and national news in the evening, but now it scares him, so he keeps it off. Not knowing, makes him feel safer. Since his daughters have moved away, he sits in his armchair and reads. Sometimes, as he stares at the pages, his mind wanders and he thinks about how his family has scattered, and gets deeply depressed. He feels as if he’s floating, disconnected in space. So to keep from disappearing out of existence, Jesse drinks. Jesse’s wife never lets up. Tired of watching him sit and consume glass after glass of bourbon, she badgers him constantly about getting out of the house. “Stop pretending you’re reading and get out of that goddamn chair. Do something, anything -- just get outside for awhile.” But Jesse’s more afraid of what’s outside than he his of Mary, so he pours another one and keeps turning pages. _____ Jesse prays for rain every night. This morning his prayers have been answered. A little unaccustomed mercy – he won’t have to listen to Mary’s badgering all day. While he’s considering his good fortune, his wife calls out from the kitchen. “Jesse, it’s trash pickup day. Go out and move the trash cans around to the curb.” Jesse shudders at the grinding voice, but decides since he’ll only be outside for a couple of minutes, he won’t argue. “Alright, I’ll be right there.”, Jesse shouts, as he walks to the closet for his jacket. _____ Jesse bends into the rain pulling both of the trashcans toward the street. Just as he gets to the curb, he notices an old Volkswagen coming along the street toward him. As he’s reaches out to fasten the lid on one of the containers, the VW pulls alongside him and stops. A hand holding a pistol emerges from the open passenger window and pulls the trigger. Jesse Christian is hit. The bullet passes through the underside of his right arm. Luckily, no major blood vessels are damaged. Feeling faint, he sits down in the wet grass. He notices, for the first time, how beautiful his wife’s flower garden is this spring. Overwhelmed with emotion, Jesse starts to cry. _____ In the emergency room at the hospital, he feels a strange euphoria. He jokes with the doctors and nurses. Even though he’s feeling a little faint, his mind seems to be working better than ever. The crazy incident has somehow lifted Jesse out of the “gray doldrums”. The irrational act of a couple of madmen has changed the entire state of his life – from that of a lonely, depressed old man to an innocent victim – a Christ-like figure – a surrogate victim for the people. After all, it could have happened to anybody in this crazy world. Jesse Christian has taken a round for us all. |