High
School Boot Cramp
by E.W. Wilder
The scholarly debate regarding Bean Newton's high school experiences
continue to rage, but one thing is certain: he thought of them more
as a reflection of popular culture than a genuine experience in and
of themselves, as evidenced in the following poem, "Stanky Wrinklebean."
The associations between American high schools and pointless warfare
are obvious to anyone who has experienced them, so they won't be expounded
upon here, but note the backdoor monasticism. A hint at a nascent spirituality
or another area of bitter disaffection?
Stanky Wrinklebean
by Bean Newton
Good thinking, Sergeant! snapped
the colonel, and the valley
was
flooded
with salami.
Drab
olive dabbed
with monklight mooned down
from heavin' above; kindly
spiter-monkeys
dis-
played barren teeth. In the end,
there
was oatmeal. \
