"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

See the world in green and blue

See China right in front of you

See the canyons broken by cloud

See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out

See the Bedouin fires at night

See the oil fields at first light

And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth

After the flood all the colors came out

-Beautiful Day, U2

Comedian Tragedian

Paul Handley

Once in the land of Formosa, where Yossarian and Napoleon frolicked on the sand,
Yossarian had Samosas flown in by Milo.
Napoleon was presented a canteen of mimosas served in his command post tent.
Yossarian feigned illness and reprieve was the hospital to pinch Nurse Rosa.
Napoleon committed atrocities even beyond the imagination of Mario Vargas Llosa.

At Waterloo, Napoleon cried Remember Alamosa, Colorado, which stymied his troops,
except for his supplicant adjunct, who also served as Josephine's lover.
Yo-Yo could have helped Napoleon if he were the bombardier, not artillery.
Who is the larger figure? If judged by Cardozo, it would be tossed out of court for lack
of jurisdiction.
Napoleon was made emperor while Yossarian received a naked medal.
Napoleon is revered yet he needs lifts to attain that crazy Assyrian's heights,
albeit he had the advantage of being a figment.

In the ponderosa pine forests of Corsica the Costa Nostra recruited Napoleon.
Napoleon wanted France to know about his power base, but was silenced by omerta
code.

About the Author

Paul Handley spent a career as a student and a student of odd jobs. He has a paralegal certificate and attended law school for a year; he has an MA, an MPA, and is ABD. He has driven a cab, scraped fish guts, sold meat door-to-door, directed a truck driving school, and worked in numerous other capacities. Paul has work published or forthcoming in Bards and Sages, Breadcrumb Scabs, Burst!, The Driftwood Review, Gold Dust, Hobble Creek Review, iddie, Macabre Cadaver, the Maynard, The Northville Review, Ophelia Street, Poe Little Thing, Potomac: Poetry & Politics, Red Fez, Short Story Library, Shape of a Box, The Smoking Poet, Winning Writers, World Of Myth, Yellow Mama, and Yippee.

Click here to continue reading the Spring 2009 edition of ExPatLit.com.

Publication Schedule

Bookmark and Share