Long Story Short

A walk around the block in my parents’ neighborhood at dawn wearing mom’s sweater and pop's sneakers with a clown hole cut out for toe infection I was stopped by a cop in a cruiser this was during the Vietnam War long hair ago he was angry at everyone I was offended by everything he said which way are you going I said which way are you going so he socked me in the mouth and handcuffed me I was arraigned on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest my good parents came down and stood beside me before the judge I wrote to the police department internal affairs not for retribution but to start a paper trail in case this cop someday bopped one of my brothers a few months later I’m back at work in NYC two detectives come into the city to question me one good cop one bad cop we park in the park me in the back seat they wanna know was I mouthy to the cop who punched me in the mouth long story short they leave me on a bench to eat my lunch and the charges are dropped