for Ortho O. Camp, 1918-2008
According to my father
being the eldest
got him all the dirty jobs
so when it came time
for the family dog, Beans, to die
he was the one
who doused the gunny-sack
with ether, stuffing it
against Beans’ arthritic body
dropping the zinc washtub
over the sleeping dog
and it was he who sat
on the thumping tub
every vibration
galvanizing to the bone
holding it in place
until the banging ceased
and there was only
silence inside.
Roger Camp lives in Seal Beach, CA where he muses over his orchids, walks the pier, plays blues piano and spends afternoons reading under an Angel's Trumpet with a charm of hummingbirds. When he's not at home, he's photographing in the Old World. His work has appeared in Pank, Rust+Moth, Gulf Coast, Southern Poetry Review and Nimrod.