Sirens of Regret…by Robert M. Katzman
Sirens of Regret
By Robert M. Katzman © June 26, 2014
I can hear it far away
Weaving in and out
Sirens
Firetruck?
Better get outa the way
Wasn’t I painting something?
Mrs. Phillips, your boy has talent
You can tell that at seven?
Picking red strawberries under the Iowa sun
Pretty girl, blond hair spilling over her shoulders
Sirens coming…
In a barn
Up in a hayloft
Jenny, can I unbutton that button?
No!
Please
No.
Please
Noooo…
Please
Yes!
John, college or painting
Can’t do both
Choose one
You want to be a starving artist?
No?
Accounting is the smart choice
I’ll send in the application
Sirens wailing…
Well, John
Welcome to the firm
Your office is over there
Sorry, no window yet
Mary will be your secretary
Pretty girl, Mary
Mary, look at the view!
I want to paint Cape Cod!
John, forget that
Billy is getting sand in his hair
Oil painting won’t pay for fixing our roof
Or Emily’s braces
Why do you persist?
Sirens…sweet soft Jenny…hay in our hair…sirens
Corner office, John
Finally got your window, eh?
Meeting new clients for lunch?
Looks like a few too many lunches
Nice watercolors on your wall
You painted them?
No! I don’t believe it!
When could you spare the time?
Mr. Phillips, I see a problem
You’re too heavy
Too many cigarettes
You work too many hours
Stress can kill you
You don’t look happy to me
Even consider a hobby?
Painting, maybe?
Sirens, louder, closer
John, we made you partner
There’ll be more traveling now
Clients want to press the flesh
So first Rochester
Then Buffalo
Then Davenport
Springfield
Harrisburg
Moline…
John,
You look so pale
Why are you still working at midnight?
Is work all there is?
I’ll get you some water
I need new brushes
Jenny let me paint you
God, Jenny
You’re so beautiful
Wish we had more time!
Wish we had more time…
Wish we had more time…
Sirens so distant…fading away…
John? John?? John!!
Publishing News!
(Currently seeking representation as a speaker/poet for hire)
Bob Katzman’s two new true Chicago books are now for sale, from him!
Vol. One: A Savage Heart and Vol. Two: Fighting Words
Gritty, violent, friendship, classic American entrepreneurship love, death, heartbreak and the real dirt about surviving in a completely corrupt major city under the Chicago Machine. More history and about one man’s life than a person may imagine.
Please visit my new website: http://www.dontgoquietlypress.com
If a person doesn’t want to use PayPaI, I also have a PO Box & I ship anywhere in America.
Send me a money order with your return and contact info.
I will get your books to you within ten days.
Here’s complete information on how to buy my books:
Vol 1: A Savage Heart and Vol. 2: Fighting Words
My books weigh almost 2 pounds each, with about 525 pages each and there are a total together of 79 stories and story/poems.
Robert M. Katzman
Don’t Go Quietly Press
PO Box 44287
Racine, Wis. 53404-9998
email: robertmkatzman@gmail.com
Books cost $29.95 each, plus shipping
For: (1)$3.95; (2)$5.95; (3)$7.95; (4)$8.95 (5)$9.95;(6) $10.95
(7) $11.95; (8) $12.95; (9)$13.95 (10)$15.95 (15)$19.95
I am also for hire if anyone wants me to read my work and answer questions in the Chicago/Milwaukee area. Schools can call me for quantity discounts for 30 or more books. Also: businesses, bookstores, private organizations or churches and so on.
My Fighting Words Publishing Co. four original books, published between 2004 and 2007 are now out-of-print. I still have some left and will periodically offer them for sale on my new website.