a cartoon mouse-shaped purse

the chimney of the smelter

at the edge of town never ceased

to send a plume of vapor

high above the doll shop.

that tuesday, a blue sky day

the plume stood like a quill

in the hand of god. jack and jill

lolled on the weather beaten

fake leopard skin couch that sat

on the porch in front of the shop

watching the contrails crisscross

the sky behind the smelter.

jill kept a smith & wesson in

a cartoon mouse-shaped purse.

after all, she liked to say, be cute

but be prepared to shoot when

every day begins to look like aleppo.

bet i could hit that walnut

right off the tree, she smirked.

i reckon you could, said jack

be a waste of a perfectly good nut.

i sugared a pound of pralines

yesterday, i'll bring out a dish?

and looks like you could use

a refresh on your ice tea.

yeah thanks, that sounds delish.

while you're at it, did you

say that you got some new stuff?

vintage japanese, pokemon?

indeed i do, darlin' something

really special, something really jill.

how about a yellow pikachu cap

with ears, or a pikachu brassiere?

would that fit into your whole

tokyo sex kitten gunslinger theme?

or have you grown weary of that meme?

i've got cabbage patch and barbie too.

i don't think so, jack. cabbage patch

would be too daisy mae and barbie

style on my bod? i'm not london mod.

how 'bout hello kitty or strawberry shortcake?

some kind of my little pony things

would go really nicely with my hair.

uh huh. that's quite the shade of pink.

i'll show you what i've got, but how about

you put that gun away, i don't need

another visit from the sheriff, even though

you think that certain deputy is hot.

if you  wanna play annie oakley,

i've got the accessories, but please

why don't you take it somewhere else.

they lean back on the couch and watch

the fighter jets dog fight overhead

munching jack's pralines and sipping tea.