Jeffrey S. Thompson

Father’s Day

Jeffrey S. Thompson

for Dr. Stanley D. Thompson

Pronghorns are not antelope and bison aren’t buffalo. Use a yellow filter for greater contrast, especially in the sky. You can wash your hair with a bar of soap, it’s basically the same stuff as shampoo. Lie on your right side if you’re feeling nauseated. Let everybody off the elevator before you get on. First place the print in the developer for ninety seconds, agitate the tray gently so the print is always covered with fluid. The image should start to appear at around fifteen seconds. Make sure you own a navy blue blazer, it works for any occasion. You can’t con an honest man. Take the tongs and lift the print out of the tray, let it drain, then place it in the stop-bath for thirty seconds. Be aware of your surroundings. For instance on the Jones Creek Trail, the south-facing slopes are bare, they get the direct sunlight, the north-facing slopes are wooded. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Let the print drain again before placing it in the fixer for five minutes. Daddy longlegs aren’t spiders and spiders are not insects. If all else fails, read the directions. That man always looking through magazines at the Stop & Go—don’t stare—it’s called neurofibromatosis, tumors grow uncontrollably on the nerves. There is no treatment. Wash the print under running water for ten minutes, then hang to dry. Walk facing the traffic. Badlands cedar is a misnomer, they’re actually junipers. Touch up any white specks with India ink. No, they generally won’t give you meds for abdominal pain, they don’t want to mask its source. Pronghorns are curious animals, always wanting another look, that’s how the hunters get them.

Jeffrey S. Thompson was raised in Fargo, North Dakota, and educated at the University of Iowa and Cornell Law School. He lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona. At Iowa he participated in undergraduate poetry workshops and had a couple poems published in small journals. He pursued a career in public interest law, but recently decided to start sharing his work again. Thompson was named a finalist for the 2021 Iowa Review Poetry Award, and has been published or accepted at Neologism Poetry Journal, North Dakota Quarterly, The Main Street Rag, and Passengers Journal.