James Lineberger

BIRDLAND

Somewhere around the time
just before my brother decided he no longer wanted
to remain at West Point
and finally flunked out because that was the only
way short of disability or insanity
that anybody could escape the place somewhere around that time
he had a weekend leave and invited
my parents to join him
in New York where he took them to Birdland my mother said
which was a place where they played
screechy music and this black woman that was singing
had sweat running all off her
but your father she said passed out
on the way to
the bathroom and Richard had to carry him outside
and hold him up while we waited for
a taxi cab and I was never so embarrassed in my life
but Richard didn't let it bother him
not even when this car full of kids stopped at the stoplight
with an American flag that they had on fire
and hanging out the back window and your brother I was
so proud of him
in his dress uniform and even this girl in the car
you could tell it made her cry
just to see how straight and tall he was