voices at breakfast #2

oshkosh was full of those
damn mosquitos and st louis
it rained all week in st louis
the heat is peculiar to itself there
my god san diego polluted my lungs
I didn’t know what to make of new mexico
it was the air the air
was so clear my lungs
were crying with peace and joy
Ill tell you this
when she sold her house to afros
everybody just hated her
thought she should have
jumped up the price at least
so much hate I couldn't believe it
well a little social security
and nothing for twenty years with the company
I cant afford to retire
look at those egrets
the grace the incandescence
every time I go to arkansas
my mother in law serves me grits
she knows I hate grits

—From Begging an Amnesty, 1994