MikeLigalig.com

Venus'-flytraps
By Yusef Komunyakaa
Listen[/size]
Sunny grass,Unmindful of snakes
    & yellowjackets, out
To the yellow flowersQuivering in sluggish heat.
    Don't mess with me
'Cause I have my Lone RangerSix-shooter. I can hurt
    You with questions
Like silver bullets.The tall flowers in my dreams are
    Big as the First State Bank,
& they eat all the peopleExcept the ones I love.
    They have women's names,
With mouths like whereBabies come from. I a five.
    I'll dance for you
If you close your eyes. NoPeeping through your fingers.
    I don't supposed to be
This close to the tracks.One afternoon I saw
    What a train did to a cow.
Sometimes I stand so closeI can see the eyes
    Of men hiding in boxcars.
Sometimes they wave& holler for me to get back. I laugh
    When trains make the dogs
Howl. Their ears hurt.I also know bees
    Can't live without flowers.
I wonder why DaddyCalls Mama honey.
    All the bees in the world
Live in little white housesExcept the ones in these flowers.
    All sticky & sweet inside.
I wonder what death tastes like.Sometimes I toss the butterflies
    Back into the air.
I wish I knew whyThe music in my head
    Makes me scared.
But I know thingsI don't supposed to know.
    I could start walking
& never stop.These yellow flowers
    Go on forever.
Almost to Detroit.Almost to the sea.
    My mama says I'm a mistake.
That I made her a bad girl.My playhouse is underneath
    Our house, & I hear people
Telling each other secrets.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=126287.0