Ken Hada is a fourth generation Oklahoman, descendant of Danish and Hungarian immigrants: Gypsy poets, barn dance aficionados, art lovers, amateur philosophers, wheat farmers, preachers, teachers and common-sense craftsmen.

“These poems, acting as spare parts themselves, go into the making of one smooth-running, powerful engine.”

 - Diane Glancy

Author of Pushing the Bear

The Way He Always Wanted

by Ed Makowski

In the night

seeing a guy walk out of an

Open Pantry

I looked twice

thinking he was

a friend from high school.

Mistaken, but it made me remember

sophomore year

this guy's father

moved his boys

out by us, to

get away from the

Folks vs Latin Kings

drive-by shootings

my new friend had

participated

in

It seemed to work.

I got him a job with me

at KFC

and he didn't skip school

to smoke pot

too often.

A couple years later we all graduated.

My friend tried a semester of tech school, but

wasn't much of a student.

Bored,

still working as a fry cook

he joined up

and after we threw a party

he went off to Basic.

Shortly after he was

sent overseas and

killed in battle.