https://www.albany.edu/offcourse
http://offcourse.org
ISSN 1556-4975
Published by Ricardo and Isabel Nirenberg since 1998
"What Dog?", a poem by Charles Rammelkamp
Friday after classes we drop acid,
pile into Lynch’s car.
We’re headed down to Kalamazoo,
a long weekend away
from Potawatomi Rapids College.
“I’m going to drive all the way there
with my eyes closed,” Lynch announces.
“It’s a straight shot down 131.”
“You should probably open them up
when we pass through Grand Rapids,”
Serkin advises in total seriousness.
“Some of the exits are tricky.”
We’re all feeling invulnerable.
Suddenly something looms up
right outside the window.
I’m in the backseat.
“Wow,” I marvel. “Did you see
the size of that dog?
Looked big as a wolf.”
Lynch’s eyes are still closed,
but Serkin asks, “What dog?”
Charles Rammelkamp is Prose Editor for BrickHouse Books in Baltimore, where he lives with his wife Abby. He contributes a monthly book review to North of Oxford and is a frequent reviewer for The Lake, London Grip and The Compulsive Reader. A poetry chapbook, Mortal Coil, was published in 2021 by Clare Songbirds Publishing and another, Sparring Partners, by Moonstone Press. A full-length collection, The Field of Happiness, will be published in 2022 by Kelsay Books.