“The Area Man” by Kyle Adamson

I am the Area Man.
I point snub nosed pistols
at blonde haired bank tellers.

I hide out in the bushes,
and jerk off as college girls walk by
as I still wear my haggard
high school letter jacket.

I break into your home
and rifle through your pantries.
I finger your Ramen noodles & stale almonds
like a scavenging hyena.

I enter your bedroom, forcefully if possible.
I bind you. I wrap your ankles in duct tape,
saying “shh, shh screaming will only make you tired.”

I want to steal your heirlooms; you know
your Grandpa’s watch, the one with Korean War sweat stains,
the one that hasn’t ticked since
January in the Chosin Reservoir.

I am the Area Man the Asian lady
on the news always talks about.
You know, Kim Taka-something or another

I love the way she says my name.
The way her lips flex & bend
as if saying my name costs her money.
The way she squints as the words roll off her tongue,
Area Man, it tickles me when she says it.

Kyle Adamson is a MFA student at Bennington College and earned a BFA from Hamline University. He is the winner of the 2010 Intro to Journals Award in poetry and has been published in the Artful Dodge, Midway Journal, Revolver, Water~Stone Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and r.kv.r.y. Kyle lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.