Quixote, Alive and Well

I.

He was as valiant, courteous and liberal ^(1.)
as any knight errant you could hope to see.
And there, a girl on a corner, a target
for midnight cruisers on a boisterous street.

"Wouldst care for conveyance on this noble steed?
'Better Savored than Sacrificed,' so goes the oldest of
dichos." Her mouth gaping from disbelief
she had quoted that, this very morning, to a teabag
that had been eloquently saved from the trash.

It was plain she could not ride an airborne ghost.
A horse that lost, even momentarily,
his connection with the rider on his back.
Air currents lowered the ancient knight's head
to his chest before restoration by vigorous
counter gesture. This was an impatient knight
far too familiar with anti-gravity forces.

"You've got to be kidding" she carefully smoothed
overly-solid, disingenuous hips.

***And wasn't it a shame nobody played the game.
The myth taken for granted
but on every street corner just the same.



II.

"You must not risk virtue here, gentle lady.
Let me escort you: A newsstand? A park bench?"
She saw the kindness, though the voice seemed thin

"You looking for a fight? Fine! the next cholo
will run you through. Man, that ought to be a laugh!
Besides there's no injustice here. Believe me,
I get paid! I only work three nights a week
and I can stay home with the kids. You see old fella,
your kind require damsels in distress with very real tears."


***And wasn't it a shame they wouldn't play the game.
Liberal means there is no one to blame.



III.

And when the car slowed down, they started to talk.
How long are you good for? Two hundred was all
she would say. Does that include the guy on the horse?
They laughed, honked and revved their motor while
She inspected spiked heels and the damage they could do.

"Yeah, yeah." they opened the door but the struggle
brought a lowered lance from the far side,
through passenger, driver and door. Then on hood
and across roof, he charged again and again
until all were exhausted from laughing
at the poor knight's frenzy, the free lance reporter,
the off-duty cop, the late-night social reformer
or whom ever came first. Laughter saved the valiant,
the courteous, the liberal once again.

***They all stopped at MacDonalds yes, the virtuous,
the victim and the villains alike, concluding
Society was beyond help, the knight ordering
"double the fries" which he offered to share.

L. Fullington