Anecdote in which John Bonham was still very much alive

by Wesley Houp

My old man named
a microcaddisfly,
Hydroptila howelli,
for an old friend and mentor,
Henry Howell,
an ichthyologist
from Alabama.

In the winter of ‘78
we ice-skated on
Howell’s pond,
blading over catfish
suspended in ice
like ugly fruit
in brackish gelatin.

Later that year
my brother’s friend’s dad
plowed into Dr. Howell’s
Continental,
parked in front of our house,
and pushed it
into Mrs. Sims’ yard,
making gross divots
she didn’t much care for.
Just an accident.

Dr. Howell had dropped by
to talk benthology.
The friend’s dad
dropped his cigarette
in the floorboard,
bent to pick it up and bam!
He was also eating
a sandwich.

He was a disc jockey
on some local station
but was on his way
to Louisville
to see Led Zeppelin.
John Bonham
was still very much alive.