1390

danced to Redding

in the kitchen

with her dog

howling like a stuck pig

and someone

grinning on the balcony with

cigarettes for teeth

;

played her jazz

on a cricket’s wing

and disco on my spine

told her to stop

rolling her mind

and she inhaled me

swallowed with

one soft gulp

my keys bouncing down her ribs

and someone

pulling the stars down with

cigarettes for teeth

;

asked her

what she likes more

dropping out of school

or

making love for the first time

and she did it just like me

a bony finger

and a yes in syrup

and someone

sticking bugs in the blinds with

cigarettes for teeth

;

danced to Redding

in the kitchen

with her dog

howling like a stuck pig

and someone

grinning on the balcony with

cigarettes for teeth