Geek Nostalgia by John David Muth

Tired of browsing
an endless succession
of online dating profiles,
I click to another site
start to watch video clips:
toy commercials from the late 1970’s,
Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.

I was once that boy
with the X-Wing Fighter
desperate for adventure
imagination growing like a universe.
Those worlds were my homes
and I would fight for them heroically
protecting the innocent
with a handful of friends
earning the love of a beautiful woman.
It would be a life full of purpose
that might end in battle
but it would end
to the sound of a string symphony
the great evil newly vanquished
and they would remember me forever,
worlds of millions
grateful for my sacrifice.

My computer pings.
I switch back to the dating site.
Someone left me a message.
Her name is Lou-Anne
she has five kids
tells me I look like her dead father
wants to meet up for a beer.
The title of her profile reads:
Just Back from Rehab.



John David Muth was born and raised in central New Jersey. For the last eighteen years, he has been an academic advisor, working for Rutgers University. His latest book, Odysseus in Absaroka (Aldrich Press), was published this year and can be found on Amazon.com.