Inhuman Swill

I used to wear a trench coat
When I was in high school.

Black.

I wore aviator sunglasses too,
And a fedora.
I didn't want to hurt anyone--
Anyone who wasn't corrupt.
I thought that was how
A proper investigative reporter
Should dress.

I took some shit for the trench coat,
But not as much as you'd think.
It even helped me get a girlfriend--
Two years later. The memory of it.
My trench coat had sparked a crush
That could never have caught fire
In high school.

She was on the drill team.

But I never once thought of bringing
A gun to school.
That wasn't what the trench coat
Stood for.

Maybe once or twice I thought about it,
Jeff Sampson.

Sharpen your own fucking pencil, bitch.