'Get Involved, Poet! ' Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

Mick was coming out of the kitchen with a can
of Bud in his fist, bellowing at Celia and the new
puppy at her feet when he stopped suddenly =

'Christ, I didn't mean to scare the pup -
what's her name again? Yeah, Zarra!
I was reading a recent issue of this rag
and come across this bit of advice -
Control the ego!
Tell me, Celia - you too, pup,
my little tubby Lab Zarra -
do I not control the ego
and the id as well as the superego? '

'Mick, ' Celia said, 'you are a veritable
saint above all in those departments!
You don't worry so much about yourself
as you do about these characters
that emerge from Malone's fertile
imagination and wreak havoc on us all!
You're as real sometimes as a heart attack! '