Fire Escape, by Steve Deutsch

Sunday Papers, W.86th Street, NYC, 1922, by Edward Steichen (USA, b. Luxembourg) 1922

Fire Escape
 
Most summer nights
the three of us
slept on that fire-escape--
crammed together
like a litter of baby rabbits.
Mr. Nestor downstairs
complained he couldn’t 
keep his windows up
because of the racket.
 
Remember the time 
we let Joey sleep
through the downpour.
We stood by the window,
stomped our feet 
and laughed
like only brothers can.
He was one tough little guy.
His mouth 
and dad’s belt
like those syncopated swimmers
at the Olympics in Helsinki.
Never a whimper.
 
The only time dad seemed proud
was when Joey became 
a green beret in ’66.
He spent twenty-seven days in Nam--
shot in the belly,
he bled to death 
in a rice paddy--
one final soaking.
Remember when he finally came in
through the window that night,
looking like a drowned cat,
and climbed right into bed 
without saying a word.

Steve Deutsch

Steve Deutsch lives in State College, PA. Over the past two years, his work has appeared in over two dozen print and on line journals. He was nominated for Pushcart Prizes in 2017 and 2018. His chapbook, Perhaps You Can, was published in 2019 by Kelsay Press. His full length book, Persistence of Memory, was recently accepted for publication.