Turkey-Shoot Tavern
The camera caught the gun racks,
the knick-knacks, and the flag on the wall
in the small-town tavern
that was once a grocery store
founded by the owners’ great-grandfather.
It was hunting season, time for shooting
turkeys, and the narrator spoke
of a village where these Wisconsin folk
share beer, talk hunting, talk turkey.
“You’re probably safer here,”
said a guy holding a cold mug of beer,
“than anywhere in America.”
As the video rolled, I couldn’t take my eyes
off the flag on the wall: that battle-red,
blue-crossed, Southern Stars and Bars.