my father once told me there are only two real reasons to travel
the first is if you need something from sears & roebuck
like power tools or mittens

the second is to see the massive travertine columns in stuttgart
near the café that adopts out feral kittens
hitlers pillars some call them

intended as a tribute to his friend & ally benito mussolini before
the vegetarian blitzkrieged poland in 1939
armored divisions rolling into warsaw

ahead of the snapdragons our neighbors gifted us today at brunch
the heads of which we ate with mittens on our hands
while the kittens of those neighbors

encircled us bemoaning their tasteless vegan lunch
& charming us with their version of a feline panzer crush 

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A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, M F Drummy is a disabled author whose poetry has appeared in dozens of publications, including Allium, Bloodroot, Meetinghouse, Penstricken, and Rattle. They have published two full-length collections of poetry: Perdido (2025, Main Street Rag Press)and Defensible Spaces (2026, Kelsay Books). Originally from Massachusetts, they and their way-cool life partner continue to enjoy their retirement in the Colorado Rockies. They can be found at https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/m_f_drummy.