in the office, shirked my task
broke decorum, grabbed the flask
immoderate I scanned the hackneyed atlas
for an evanescent buzz.
pigeon holed, a techie mole
hunting for subterranean bugs
back at my house, I met a man
told of childhood effluvium
sewage leak his father fixed
but all years later still smelled piss
in every bucket's flumchuck
left to fume in dank garage.
McCain's brain tumor: fresh news gore
he'd dodged the firing squad at war
but now stood trial by combat with
his own neuronal stew:
the terracotta warrior shattered
to reach for mending glue.