Walk By The River

I went for a walk this morning. Beside the little river in town.
I was humming a little tune. This man comes up to me and
says, “I don’t know you.” I looked at him funny like, and said,
“I don’t know you either.” “So what! It don’t matter we don’t
know each other,” he said, raising his voice. I started to walk
away. He said, “Don’t walk away. We need to discuss some
things.” I decided to humor him. “Ok. What would you like
to discuss?” “The whole situation,” he said. “Do you mean the
world situation?” I asked. “Yes! Yes, that’s it,” he said.
“Where do you want to start?” I said. “What about the problem
with noise. We must get rid of all obnoxious noise. Loud music,
loud mufflers,” he said. “I agree. How do we get rid of all
obnoxious noise?” I said. “We must get elected to public office,”
he said, “then we can do something about it.”
“Ok,” I said, “I will run for president, and you run for vice
president.” “No! No! I want to run for president,” he said.
“Ok. I will agree to run for vice president. Let’s meet again
next week, and discuss our plans,” I said. “Great! Right here,
beside the river! Say 10 o’clock,” he said. “Yes. 10 o’clock.
See you then,” I said, as I walked away from him very fast.

*

Ed Nichols lives in Clarkesville, Georgia. He is a graduate from the School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. A chapbook of his prose poems was published in April, 2021, titled, I Wish I Could Laugh. A collection of 60 prose poems was published in September, 2021, titled Perfect Land. He will be publishing a collection of 24 short stories this spring.