the k swiss slush fund by Adam Johnson
the old banker dies
the state government takes half his estate via death tax
the rest goes into a private trust
about 8 million
per the terms of the banker’s pour-over will
for the benefit of his kids
three of them in their teens
the trust is called the k swiss slush fund
that’s what the kids call it
in casual speak you see
none of your official legalese
next house over there is a bunch
of ’96 grads
with silver cavity fillings
sucking on parliament lights
strutting in classic doc martens
black leather with the yellow stitching
one of the kids is hooked on boot cut jeans
and aeropostale
he’s ahead of his time
everyone else is sporting jncos and shorty’s
in the meantime the dad of the house
is on his sixth gin martini
somewhere 8,000 square feet away
he’s ordering from dominos
on a cordless phone
he is insistent that they send him
a two liter of pepsi to mix with his gin
he’s watching melrose place
and cable news is on in
picture-in-picture
next house
slim jims and mountain dews
a little band of adidas warriors
a mix tape with nerf herder
a broken lava lamp
blacklight nights
cocaine residue
crest whitening toothpaste...
an old receipt from pac sun
ephemeral sex scenes
in low def scramble vision
an idea but no imagery
a scent but no definite smell
a memory
tube socks holding histories
a burning feeling
a burning hell at dawn
something idiosyncratic
there, then gone
like the k swiss reaper himself
next house
a teenager in tommy hilfiger jeans and
a baggy shirt by Results
gold chains, pierced ears...
the older brother is eating frosted flakes from
a popcorn bowl
high on crack
his boyfriend is passed out and
covered in Sharpie
and a moderate to severe case
of plaque psoriasis
the older brother takes a hit of crack
he looks over at you
fixes his gaze
you the stranger
as the smoke escapes his most fuckable lips
right then
right before the fall of the axe
you ask, where do we go from here
and he replies, with the Sharpie in his hand,
“there is art happening in this room.”
and he says, “don’t worry kid, i know a guy
up the block that just died, and his kids
are rolling in k swiss slush.”
Adam Johnson lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota @AdamThenJohnson