prayer to Kevin Bacon before he got old man neck
almighty Kevin, it has been weeks since
we last spoke
I consulted the oracle of bacon
and I saw Nick Cage in a
New Orleans window
who was in a movie with
Cuba Gooding Jr.
who was in a movie with
you in ’92
before your neck
got those
wrinkles
so since I have a Bacon
rating of 3 I
feel holy enough to say,
there will come a time
when you have to decide
“am I, Kevin Bacon,
going to die young?”
for the sake of the
congregation, consider it.
for the sake of your children
and we are all your children
for the sake of those who
know someone who
knows someone who
knows someone who
knows someone who
knows someone who
knows you,
consider it.
it does not do to have our
messiah grow old.
to have his neck
stretch and fold
over until he is
a worm from Tremors
until he is the
monster underground.
I. Things I Could Never Tell Kevin Bacon
or My Father as Kevin Bacon
I tried to write this poem to my father first.
I won’t carry a gun.
I’ve tasted the barrel of the Ruger in the garage.
I’m the one they call when they’ve been raped at gunpoint.
I’m embarrassed by you.
II. Postcard to Kevin Bacon from Harrogate, TN
Dear Mr. Bacon,
I want to apologize for what
I said earlier about your
neck and also those movies
you were in. They aren’t really
that bad and you’ve aged
better than James Spader.
I want to apologize too for casting
you in the role of my father.
I am afraid to talk to him,
even in poems, and you
are just an old man.
Please find enclosed, by way
of apology, a scarf the dusky
yellow of this afternoon’s light.