At The Party Before The Crash

people talked about

health care
the zombie apocalypse
the difference between Irish whiskey
and Scotch whisky

someone drunk dialed a friend
to tell her she had a great ass

a monkey was mentioned

two guys expressed admiration
for the closeness they shared
one time in a rainstorm
no physical contact happened, y’know
but they understood each other
as co-combatants in a struggle

great wings beating
against the kitchen window
went virtually unnoticed for a time

but eventually someone asked

who heard that?

is that an angel or a bat?
or perhaps a flying monkey?

someone cued up
the Wizard of Oz
to try and settle the argument

then it was back to the zombies
and their dead eyes
someone said they’d starve here
everyone laughed

leaving the question of what was hovering
above the house
unanswered

till the next morning
the shocked phone calls
the denial
the newspaper article
the radio report
the burst heads cradled
in unbelieving hands