kontrol

Once a necessary accoutrement,

it hangs hidden, mounted

inside the door well,

an abandoned artillery shell,

naked, deprived of danger.

I slide my fingers

over the cold copper

and think how this veteran

must have doused the cinders.

Perhaps it had been a champion

on the front of a kitchen pyre

or a blitz on a stray cigar ember,

bottom up, in the bed linens.

The rubber hose now lays limp,

impotent at its side, corroded,

rusted from years of containment.

In flaccid abstinence, it stands,

loyal until the moment of truth,

when its soda-acid ejaculates,

like a horny soldier on fire.

willow, 2010

Since I squeezed my last week's Magpie in at the last minute, I thought I'd be early this week. You can't see from the image, but the brand name of the vintage fire extinguisher is "Kontrol", which I thought was an appropriate title for this piece.

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