In order to view this poem with the line breaks the author intended, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in landscape orientation on your phone or tablet.

The following poem was written in response to a comic about a fish—in a fish bowl—expressing dismay that heaven wasn’t “more aquatic.” This poem pairs well with one of Brian’s earlier published poems, Hell.

heaven

it’s ok here, it really is ok,
we all have our own rooms
with bland art on the walls
and beds that stay fresh
and make themselves every morning.
there’s an ok golf course—
I’ve played better, I’ve played worse—
and daily activities such as film club
and game night. sex is permitted
but no one has much appetite for it—
is the food dosed, or what?
we eat what we like and don’t get fat.
there’s wine and beer but no hard liquor,
and we can’t get drunk even if we try,
just a buzzing high
and a sick headache in the morning.
we say the same things over and over.
it’s allright here, it really is,
I don’t slip notes in the suggestions box
in the lobby. I’ll try the chicken salad tonight
just for a change from the hamburger and fries.

—
Brian Daldorph teaches at the University of Kansas and Douglas County Jail. He has taught in England, France, Japan, Senegal, and Zambia. He edits Coal City Review and also edited Douglas County Jail Blues (2010), an anthology of inmate poetry. His latest books are Kansas Poems (Meadowlark Press, 2021) and Words Is a Powerful Thing (University of Kansas Press, 2021).

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