… when firemen pried up planks from the sidewalk near the north end of the block, intense heat drove them back. The basements of buildings were roaring furnaces …
Jacob Furth, dressed in tails and top hat,
was hastening across Western Avenue
when he saw smoke rising around a slat
near the curb. He hailed a fire crew
busy hauling hoses toward the dock
at Pier Two, then knelt on the boardwalk
to get a closer look. Felt the plank
for heat. As the firemen began to yank
loose the boards, Furth stepped back
to survey the entire block. Up the street
there was a shout, then a blast of heat
as the firemen fell back, their faces black
with smoke. Furth stepped forth … nervous …
the basement itself was a roaring furnace.
Yes!
And a cliffhanger ending, too.
Wasn’t this going to be a book or something?
Not ‘wasn’t’; ‘isn’t’.
Publication scheduled for June 6, 2013. Didn’t you get the memo?
You’ve been snooping.
But never let me slip, ’cause if I slip, then I’m slippin’.
Aside from punching out another kickass sonnet, it seems you’ve also just lobbed an easy homerun pitch to our illustrator. What a tale that top hat and tails tells!
‘What a tale that top hat and tails tells!’
Poetry! — and great ad copy for Korrektiv’s evening-wear-rental subsidiary.
Oh Quin, that was terrific.
Thanks, Baby! Say, grab me a cigarette, will ya?
What’s for breakfast?
Quin,
The suspense builds like a good cocktail.
Good on’ya!
JOB