Charlie was a leprechaun,
midway born into a family
of thirteen
the scourge of catholic school
daring to shout ‘Thank God’
when the mass was ended
smoking cigarettes
for their illicit thrill,
found himself a summer job
cleaning up the trash
at the town park,
found himself in the background
of a photo of the young cleanup crew
on the cover of the community newspaper
he was flipping off the photographer.
his mom made him wear an ace bandage
that covered his hand
but for his middle finger
for two weeks
his laughter was un-controllable