Cover Letter · Robert K. Giesen

I was born in 1963.
I don't remember the Kennedy assasination,
but there's always the possibility
that I was on the grassy knoll.

Later, I grew up in the mountains of Virginia.
My grandfather, who had huge hands,
had a still,
and once shot a government agent
in the butt
with a shotgun full of rocksalt.

My wife and I have two small children
who often act drunk
and control us in subtle, unconscious ways.
Sometimes we throw each other on the couch,
bounce off and do it againi. Motion is constant.
We all love the smell of burnt toast.

Sometimes I do what I'm supposed to do.
I have a job, sometimes.
My grandmother,
who lived in Connecticut,
knew P.T. Barnum.
I also like watching fish.