Tuesday, June 29, 2021

twisting the night away

in the early sixties
before kennedy was shot, well before
the first moon
landing.
the war 
just getting started 
in southeast asia.
my father built a fall out shelter
in the back yard
so that when the commies
sent their missiles. 
our way, we had a place
to go, to hide, to stay alive,
to pray.
the world was about to be
destroyed in a few hours,
what took God
seven days to make.
my father stocked it with
canned beans. powdered milk.
boxes of indestructible foods.
we'd go down there
sometimes, for a dry run.
he'd put a record on,
chubby checker,
and we'd dance,
doing the peppermint twist,
twisting the night away.

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