Texas (Ghazal)
I’d lick a prickly pear in Odessa, Texas
Wear a blue bonnet in the breeze of Corpus Christi
Throw clown noses at cacti in Eden
Skip class to crunch on tumbleweeds
and pick the bones out of my teeth in Seagrave, Texas
I’d chase armadillos on a pogo stick
Go skinny-dipping in an oil well in Sweetwater
In the Permian Basin, rain evaporates
before it hits the ground
I have never been to Texas
I will probably never go to Texas
Madeline
We saw
the woman with soft smelling hair
flirting with our dad
They were sitting outside on the porch swing
talking quietly
We saw
mom in the kitchen
shifting everything
an inch to the left
We brought out spoonfuls of ketchup
and ate them
one full spoon of sugary tomato each
staring right at them,
at her
And they knew how much of an insult it was
by my grin,
identical to yours
and by how quickly we ran away
You’re the only person I’ll ever love.
Which is ok.
Because I really love you.