The Mean Game by John Wall Barger

The Mean Game by John Wall Barger is fun! The poems remind me of Charles Simic’s work, but with more narrative. There are absurd reimagining of old tales, and new fairytales we only get glimpses of. The poems are often humorous but the sentiments are real—sentiments of longing and regret and love and awkwardness. Buy here.

From “The Headaches”

. . . A new girl has arrived. / I hear her now / washing her armful of flutes / in our bath. I know / she can’t stay, Mother. / She has no talent. / But when she plays, / the headaches / curl up on the floor / & shut their eyes like feral cats.

From “The Bureaucrats”

We never should have crossbred the bureaucrats with office supplies. “But,” you said, “how convenient! With microchip eyes they send emails by winking. With opposable big toes they operate four staplers at once.” Soon the bureaucrats could take no more. They escaped our electric fences & fled to the woods . . .

From “The Wonderful Hat”

. . . Driving at night in the rain, I yawned. There was roadkill everywhere. I shut my eyes & their eyes rolled open. I pulled over to clear my thoughts, stepping out into the fall air, the faint weight of the hat on my head. All was still, even in the rain. The bright drops hovered, like a photo of snow, like stars. Up & down the road, small bodies rose heavily to their feet.