Secondhand Frank

           Secondhand Frank

John handed me a jacket of the sort

They call a fleece in England, made of mild

Beige man-made fiber looking like a short

And curly lambskin.  Then perhaps he smiled

Though what that meant I would not know.

I tried it on because it was a gift.

Then afterwards as in an overthrow

Like that from Jason’s coat, as if a rift

Was what was wished, I learned that it had been

A present he had bought for Frank, the man

Who pepper sprayed him three times. I was keen

To cloak my shock.  Just what had been the plan

Behind this offering?  Was I to feel blest,

Or queued behind that monster, second best?