May 27, 2003

on edge

the clock read 11:23 on my way to the bathroom.
11:35 on my way out the front door, and its already 90 degrees.
i'm going to boil alive out here today, and i'm going to love it.
on my stomach
on the edge of my yard
i wondered just where i put the sunscreen,
and where i over looked my white skin,
what shape i will find the redness tomorrow,
&where the sun has licked me raw.
here with my incredibly large glass of water,
i sit and wait for my day to end.
face to the ground, i float like a dead white girl
in the middle of the hood.
3 people walked past to ask,
u'z ok?
y'all right?
from disco cat who needed a smoke.
i'z did that once. yes i'z did. you gots to hate it when you lays
something down
and forgets where you puts it. whach you lookin for? got a smoke?

in the heat i contemplate my life's mystery,
what would be the worst way to die?
ravage by heat, it's easy to think them up.
better to leave, or be left behind
like dying mulberries on the sidewalk in front of me?
will i leave my mark,
or stain the ground i fall on?

words from a drunk:
just keep looking,
it's probley down there,
somewhere.

before - after