Shark Man Poem by Charles Chaim Wax

As I ate tofu ravioli
at my sister’s place
the phone rang
Annie answered
a moment later saying,
“Shark attacked Navin.”
“What? ” said my sister
grabbing the receiver.
Five minutes later
she told the story of how
her eighteen year old son
Navin had been
zooming on his jet ski
when he lost control
and flipped off
sadly the machine sped away
as he bobbed in the water
the current too strong
for him to swim after it
so he screamed for help
but ten minutes later
tired of howling
he simply quivered on the open sea
as four hammerheads
crisscrossed in front of him
but a yacht soon showed up
hauling him out:
the Captain
dubbing Navin
Shark Man
because not one
even nibbled a toe.
The next day
my sister called saying,
“Navin made a grand last night.”
“Oh.”
“Dave Eickwort
owner of the Banana Peel
read the article
called Navin
and offered him a job
as a male stripper
so he prances on stage
wearing a fancy shark skin suit
then peels it off to Mambo music
with women stuffing
hundred dollar bills
in his jock strap.”
I said proudly,
“The young lad’s
found his true calling—
a rare accomplishment
in these days of turmoil
and confusion.”
“But is there a future
in stripping? ” asked my sister
always worrying
even when
good fortune
appeared
this time
via
four
not too hungry
hammerhead sharks.