Dan Sicoli

scampi

flaming pot of bubbling butter
unattended on the burner
sweats the kitchen air
to a puffy fog

flashing tongues begin licking
at overhead microwave

smoke detector's gone eccentric
the manic chirping
arouses old man legs
and with quick palm
squeezes the handle
and steadies the raging pot
from stovetop to side door
tossing all on snow-covered sidewalk

a hand left with second degree burns
refuses treatment
insisting ice is enough
as the slippery walkway coagulates
to a polished pool

he runs water
as skin blisters
then goes outside

freezing butter makes
for good ointment

 

Dan Sicoli, of Niagara Falls, NY, might be found in a local gin mill banging on an old Gibson with a garage rock band. Between his editorial duties with Slipstream, he enjoys oven-drying his home-grown plum tomatoes and chasing his two-year-old-twin grandsons around.