Sunday, August 12, 2012

Godfather, or Another Southern Magazine Verse



 
There is sunlight
and lots of it
and I see
blades of grass
springing with the leap of grasshoppers
            and ladybugs
      their piehalf wings
like being cut open into flight
and hot dogs
           like lashed flesh
burgers liquid on top like
flattened
cauldrons and
bubbling
a yellow bag of half-
crumpled buns and stack of paper plates
under mustardketchup
picklesvlasic (jar)
lined and ringed bottles
and there
sunlight green
is and refracting through
picklejuice               emeraldlike
in that light of the bird’s
not-tweeting and cool
breeze stirring walnut dogwood trees of
two coolers at the feet of white circled
chairs
sitting drinking
cigarette butts
and water spilt out
browner than dirt
beer pulled from an Uncle’s pocket
and more and more
and ya’ll eat up
oh no (rubbing stomach, grimace)
I’m full
Naw
Ya’ll just et up
hot dog?
burg…?
and laughing
staring
sitting sitting smoking eating
two dogs in the white circle
aww aww c’mere n’ik n’ik n’ik heeah puppuppup
and they walk off in sun
and blades of grass
holding hands
talking low
as fireflies come out
twinkle
not right dark
gonna rain?
a crushed noxious of the catalpa tree
at least fifty worms crawling toward it
gnarled
almost leafless
striped a neon back
hunching scrunchin
look it has little suction cup legs
I say
crawling like
                         h  i
               .       t        s   .
holding it in my hand
turning my wrist
letting it run
I’m gonna name er Natasha
laugh
turn wrist
watch
good name
laugh again
the sun is going down
two figures in shadow
holding hands
kissing
it has been a good night I think
a farm
walnuts
burgers
catalpa worms
fries
beer
watching men in overalls
women in large Looney Tunes T-shirts
ask about what I’ll be doing in a few weeks
when college begins
what I’ll do
where I’ll live and
I don’t want to think about that
and we drive to get coffee
and smoke cigarettes and listen to Irish music
and they talk about the farm
and marriage
and he says one day when me and Stevie get married we’re gonna
live out here
that would be awesome I say
don’t worry man you can come over anytime
I’ll be the drunk uncle who’s not really an uncle
godfather man, godfather
and I laugh
and almost believe it
but I am happy
sometimes
even when it is just a plan
or even someone else’s plan
and sometimes
I think
I look out the car window
when I’m a passenger and feel that
I have done more
or traveled more
than if I had driven
and then I am happy too
there are haybales
out in the field
behind that church
with the graveyard next to the highway
but I do not point.

No comments:

Post a Comment