pushes down iraqnaphobia

buried beneath sand dementia

timelapses

headaches

backflashes

blood on nameless girlcentered between vocal chords & 7year old skin

suffers from chronic fatiguesyndrome    gre/een bla/ckgre/een bla/ck bro/wn

commendations & newswrite up’s          bushes& combat     see nn

Gi Bill & HonorableDischarge

& numbness             can’tseem to defrost beating heart

wants her to do CPR

bring him back to life

call him soldier while theyfuck

tries    to         be       romantic        (poursmassage oil from his flask)

blood on nameless girlcentered between vocal chords & 7-year old skin

& numbness             can’tseem to defrost beating heart

 P Eli’s

   Bedroom

WhiteFlannel Sheets/No comforter

Rita’sorganic panties

7 Bibles

Picture ofEli’s mother inside a birthday card

2 Knives,under each pillow

1 Oily greenflask

Cans ofsardines

Terrance

Shoots the     ball

                        dribble

                        Run

                        Shake

the players

dream big

                        cars

                        money

                        house

                        clothes

                        women

number oneplayer

number oneplayer

number oneplayer

repeating the 9^thgrade

                        smartand

                        funny

failing

falling

fibbing

first born

fearful

fatherless

                        won’t

get throughschool

with perfect

                        alleoop

                                 

 

P Terrance’s

   Crumpled letterfrom his counselor

 

Terrance isa wonderful basketball player. He has a great

personalityand all the kids like him. I wish that his

basketballskills coupled with his social skills would

balance hisacademic performance. If we don’t see

asubstantial improvement of Terrance’s grades

by the endof the quarter, unfortunately, he will not be

promoted tothe 10^th grade. We understand that he is

having majoradjustment issues, but we cannot

continuallymake allowances or exceptions for him.

Please callme on Monday and lets make a plan. I want

to help asmuch as I can, but in the end, Terrance has

to do this.

 

 

 

Ms. Paulette Williams

 

Is corporate somebody

elevator ride

                        far

from street plankton

bad news

& blaring radios

 

wears assorted names

close to her skin

loves the sound of plastic   as it

spanks the counter

 

stilt walks

9-5

 

inside

away from the field  . . .       grows

 

weaker

at every happy hour

 

hearsthem screaming

covers ears

tries to tellsomebody/somewhere/something/anybody/anything/anywhere

 

                                                listen

 

i’ll fuck you up if youeven try to tell me what to do

muthafucka i aint scaredof you because i know what

you did &       ima tell          imatell           imatell

 

asks bar tender for morerita

in her marga

tells happy hour go-ers

they’ve got rat’s in

their glasses

 

mouth’s the ten commandments

 

 

Bessie

 

On the porch

sipping sun tea

straw hat cocked

            aimed

            ready

for sun rays andcreaky porch debris

doesn’t have tosearch for backsliders

            eyesin the back of her head

keeps timescatting African hymns

takes up grandparenting every day at 4:18pm

lets the littleones quickly hug her wide frame with narrow hands

makes cookies

presses sheets

cooks gumbo

lights whitecandles

consults God andAncestors

            squintseyes at intuition dust

waits for highschool bus to deliver

granny’s babyfrom evil.

 

 

P Bessie’s

 Big Pocket Book

 

white silk handkerchief(scented)

white satingloves

thin peacockfan

tattered1940’s love letter from Bill senior

baby wipes

church keys

rouge

lipstick

recipe for jalapeñocornbread

miniaturebible

brownbraided snappin’ belt

kleenex

grandbabiesschool pictures: Lita, Carter, Laylah, Sue

 

 

 

Leroy

Drug induced

            hangover

                        upsidedown

they 69

in 84

            afterOrwell

            withReagan

 

before maritalamnesia

            cheapgas

            MarvinGaye

            Carter

                                    they

                       

chelled peanuts

                        wine’dand cheese’d         

                        carnivore’dand vegetarian’d

                        freeloved and one partnered

                        busstopped, afro’d, bell bottomed, disco’d, big nose Michael Jackson’d

 

they

revolutioned

took communion

worked late

                        went  separate ways.

 

---

PLeroy’s

    Latest Google Searches

 

Maria S

MariaSimpson

M. Simpson

Lincoln HighSchool classmates, 1969

MariaSimpson, Lincoln High School 1969

MariaSimpson, 1969

 

---