POEM OF THE DAY

Four

Screen door screamed a Southern song
Mama's big browns watched, hands pressed against the mesh
Four years old and I knew all the words
Daddy called me Suzy-Q in an accent thicker than humidity
Thicker than the Spanish moss

Two doors down the neighbor boy kept snakes
In a vacant room at the top of his house
We sat as balls
On chairs
In circles
And endured the snakes' release
I squirmed more than most

Dirt road home hid many things
Broken bottle sliced my foot; I did not cry
In the tub, Mama used sugar to stop the bleeding, and I
Delighted in Daddy's love offering
Cinnamon hots in a cooler cup
From Uncle Charlie's gas station

L Parker