waiting and
worrying in my 3/4 length sleeves
over a pot of black-eyed peas
an extra-long coffin appears
in my mind
for each big sibling
every minute they are late
in my dreams it was always water
a brother or sister falling off a rocky sea cliff
and drowning. how come the
surreal coast while I slept
in the middle of it all?
fantasy's arms are so long
all three bacchanalians
swept away by a tornado on the way home
from new orleans
your honor
i didn't go on the trip
because I didn't have the money
what is money now
just a jittering shadow once
the doorbell finally rings