Book Club
Tonight I come armed with Kurt Vonnegut
semi-colons, Bokonian phrases,
and vodka – lots of vodka.
Tonight I will speak of ends of worlds
and Dresden, of Hoosiers, and aliens.
Tonight I will disregard time and
listen to a dog barking after some war.
Tonight I will become exhausted of words
scribbled in margins lost on bookshelves
in someone else’s den.
And tonight, you will not think of me twice.
So it goes.
Source & Method
Cat’s Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut. These two pieces were read for a contemporary meeting of the minds through our “classic-only” book club. Frustrated with the style of Vonnegut’s writing, I pieced together something of my own from his work.
Tiffany Washington is an 8th grade English teacher, mother of four, and sometimes poet. Her works have appeared in a number of print and online publications including Caduceus, Chantarelle’s Notebook, Artis Magazine, and Long River Run.
Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash