UNTITLED

4/3/16

my mama said

the world will give me

blister and bruise

will make me brute

a block of boiling

blood a bastard abused

abusive abrasive

an abscess on its ass

a question to be asked

why is he still alive

and why does he still

think we care that he’s

alive is the nickname

of your future

and the nickname

of your father

she said

so learn to sew

a button on a shirt

and cook a meal

and iron a wrinkle

and braid a kink

and blow a kiss

and pluck a flower

and jot a note

and know that gentle

independence is the salve

that will keep your

salvation from bleeding

when you reach out

for her