2 December 2004 | Vol. 4, No. 4

Hood Ornament Radio Signal

by ROBERT KRUT

I'm going to melt

a cross, a statue of the Buddha, and the arms of Vishnu

into a hood ornament of a naked woman with wings of fire,

set it on my car and follow it like a compass.

People are like teenagers,

always looking to rebel.

I don't believe in anything,

so I have no desire to rebel against anything at all.

But everyone else, itching

to test the waters, push the envelope

to see if the sky will open up

when they miss curfew.

For me, it's all the same and just as easy

to be good as be bad. And if I need a sign for guidance,

I'll follow my car to that field

outside the city where the radio antennas party.

There, when I was eleven years old,

I took a handheld radio, scrolled the AM dial

until hearing my own voice for ten seconds of a breath

telling me how to proceed, and in what manner.