View Archives by:

Poet
Date
 
  Archives
 

The Insider's Club

Julie Babcock

Two men stand at a bus stop. The man that arrived first is twisting balloons. The man that arrived second is setting his watch. They do this for a long time. A woman comes and stands between them. "This is a joke, right?" she says. "What is a joke?" the balloon twister asks. "What is she talking about?" adds the watch man.

When the bus arrives, only the woman gets on. The balloon twister has twisted all his yellow balloons into a giant banana and is now working on a multi-colored wiener dog. The watch man takes two alarm clocks out of his pocket and sets them on the bench. Another woman comes along and stands behind them, watching. After several minutes she lies, "Very funny. I know what you're doing." The two men do not answer. No bus is in sight, and there is only the ticking of clocks and the farting balloons.



Julie Babcock

Read Bio

Author Discusses Poems