New Poem: HEAR THE POP (1970) VERSION TWO

HEAR THE POP (1970) VERSION TWO

this is a story of someone I knew

who wanted to make easy money

by delivering a box of marijuana

but the police saw him,

told him to stop,

fired a pistol shot near where he stood

> 

there was the arrest, the bailout, the trial date

could hear him crying very loud one night

because there was a lot of pressure on him

to cut his hair short to impress the judge

because long hair meant "hippie"

and "hippie" was defined as a threat

to prevailing notions of social order

> 

apparently he was viewed favorably

by the judge in the county seat courthouse

and the sentence was probation

> 

here’s the kicker:

I first found out about my brother’s dilemma

from a fifth-grade classmate

because my parents wanted to erect a shield

between 10-year-old me

and 19-year-old him

> 

this incident ensured I’d have a difficult time

growing to adulthood

because I was protected

as if I had a security detail

to keep me from becoming my brother

and I didn’t become my brother

spending on/off periods of his life
preferring to get and stay high to cope—

instead, I learned to be shy and suspicious

giving in to keep the peace

spending quiet time imagining

an extroverted life

with an abundance of friends

something I couldn’t have

because my parents were afraid that,

left to my own devices,

I’d make the wrong decisions

and wind up on a country road

with a small town police officer

yelling put down that box of dope

and threatening to shoot

if I didn't raise my hands