overripe banana

by Philip Venzke

The vagabond woman howled,

after landing her peanut affected heel

on an acorn left by a mischievous squirrel,

and that overly extended siren wail

was so loud it woke up the over-ripe banana

hibernating on a cigarette encrusted sidewalk.

Now forced awake, the banana spreads

its black leathery wings, jettisons its rotting fruit,

breaks gravity’s will, and on its first, and only, short flight,

discovers that sonar just might be illegal in that state,

and, as it alights atop the dimming street lamp,

concludes: “echolocation never returns my calls.”

*Originally published at The Argyle Literary Magazine.

Photo of Philip Venzke

BIO: Philip Venzke grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.  His poetry is widely published in magazines throughout the U.S. and Europe.  His chapbook “Chant to Save the World” was a winner of The James Tate International 2021 Poetry Prize (published July 2022 by SurVision Books, Ireland).  His poems also appear in “Contemporary Surrealist and Magical Realist Poetry (an International Anthology)” edited by Jonas Zdanys, Lamar University Press, 2022.  His second chapbook “Rules to Change the World” was published by Finishing Line Press in November 2023.  His third chapbook "The Chronicles of Little Zero" was published in August 2024 by Alien Buddha Press.  His fourth chapbook "Song of the Empty Hand" is anticipated to be published in April 2025 by Anxiety Press.  And his fifth chapbook "Abandoned Barn" is anticipated to be published by Kelsay Books in June 2025.