On Washing a Hog

“Hogwash,” said the American.

The Brit looked round at streets and litter, searching for a pig perhaps in a barrel of water. He reached for the wallet that lurked in his inside pocket. Perhaps the stranger hoped he’d give him cash to buy a hog and wash it.

The American, wise to concealed weapons permits and their flaws, promptly pulled out a gun. Luckily the bullet missed the Brit, embedding itself in a wall, where it pinned a fruit-fly that nobody mourned.

“Hogwash,” said the American, but the Brit turned sadly away. He still maintained his belief in gun control.

(100 words)

And a haiku?

Speeding bullet flies

Mercy’s tree of life revised

Fruit-fly’s plea denied.

And at least seven tags???

Drabble, haiku, gun control, language barrier, cultural differences, Anglo-American, value of life

Prompts for Wednesday Writing Essentials the week of September 23, 2009:

• include something disagreeable
• use the word, "hogwash"
• something needs to die
• use whatever you wrote to create a separate (or not) haiku that you also publish in the same post
• tag with wwe as well as at least seven other appropriate words