George Yatchisin
Copyright
I will write about Mickey Mouse
but the one in public domain
to avoid being sued into oblivion.
Work him in to The Great Gatsby,
which is also up for free use.
Imagine him more Nick than Jay:
Midwestern, white-gloved, judgmental.
C'mon, admit Minnie would make
a terrific Jordan Baker, batting eyes
and not much meaty to say. Blame
Scott and Walt for that, so much
of their time—part of us for free—that
we still get to have men, even when
mice, be the stars of stories, storied,
what's to be remembered at any cost.
Bio
George Yatchisin is Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, 2025-2027, and the author of Feast Days (Flutter Press 2016) and The First Night We Thought the World Would End (Brandenburg Press 2019). His poems have been published in journals including Antioch Review, Askew, and Zocalo Public Square. He is co-editor of the anthology Rare Feathers: Poems on Birds & Art (Gunpowder Press 2015), and his poetry appears in anthologies including Reel Verse: Poems About the Movies (Everyman's Library 2019).