Frankenstein’s Calf

My father was a no
Nonsense Great
Depression teenager
Used to pain and suffering
And a H.S. athlete in
Track and basketball,
He was not one to
Waste time on fiction
And preferred science.
He broke his own rules
One evening and went
To the movies alone to see
“Frankenstein” which
Was hyped as scientific,
Walking home afterwards
He took a short cut down
The dark alleyway that
Led to his backyard on
A West Frankfurt street.
As he picked his way
Down the alley in the
Dark he heard someone
Large move in the shadows
And suddenly bawl at him.
He jumped into the air and
Took off for home until
He realized it was only
A neighbor’s calf,
His shame at being
Spooked by a calf
Made him laugh
At himself
And helped him
Take his fears
In perspective
On other scary
Things in life.
He was always
An FDR liberal
At heart
And by the Viet Nam
War a little to
The right of
Genghis Khan
On foreign
Affairs.