Viking
by Jim
Wittenberg
my nickname for him was
viking
he was cool with it
the horned warrior tattooed on his forearm
swung his broadaxe directly at my eyes
do you know he was convicted for a murder?
someone asked me
no
I didn’t know that
when he was a teenager he hitchhiked
from the right coast to the left
one ride
robbed a small gas station off the highway
the attendant was shot dead
viking didn’t even know the driver’s name
or that he had a gun
or that he was going to rob the place
in prison for years
but he doesn't ever talk about it
are you bothered now that you know this
about him?
yeah, I said
they shouldn't have charged him
and you shouldn't have
told me