c    m c a l l i s t e r    w i l l i a m s

1978

Cousin, This is Enigma

It is Raining in Enigma

A Car Dealership in Enigma

Night Falls in Enigma

1978

the scar on
your leg matches
the scar on my arm

next

Cousin, This is Enigma

GA; we don’t dig
on your sideburns. We don’t

dig on Christmas hams. Listen
to the hockey player whistling

through teeth. Ask about the Holocaust.
Ask in American whiskey.

In the dark, all walls
are dark.

next

It is Raining in Enigma

            & umbrellas share their fingertips
with cockroaches. Yes, this is about us. 

            It is raining 
in Enigma, Georgia. 

next

A Car Dealership in Enigma

does not negotiate with terrorists. Does not sell
used Satellites. Does not weaken the republic.

A car dealership in Enigma, Georgia does not understand beauty &
offers you an empty bag.

next

Night Falls in Enigma

My grandmother’s long letters to Castro, reading mustache
concerns aloud in a voice filled with gravel. Uncle George’s sour
apple jam. The American Legion shrimp dinner:
old men in mothball suits. My grandfather’s best still. The process
of mashing his vintage. The process of forgetting.

next

C. MCALLISTER WILLIAMS lives in Michigan & collects typewriters. He digs on your hometown. Recent work can be found in elimae, Pindeldyboz, GlitterPony, Theives Jargon, and elsewhere.