She has the shakes, thinks she's gonna die. So thin turned sideways in the mirror she disappears. They keep telling her to cool it. She's got fifteen cats and six litter boxes. Stinks up the hallway. Everybody in the building bitches and she comes and goes hiding behind dark glasses. Her night traffic keeps me awake. She has fits. She keeps telling them about her fits. Her daughter keeps begging me for a bike ride. Healthy girl with a curious mind. I take her on the handlebars, her first time to the East River, five blocks away. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BIRDS DO THUS by ROBERT FROST ABOVE HALF MOON by JAMES GALVIN FOR OUR BETTER GRACES by JAMES GALVIN THE SLAVE TRADE: VIEW FROM THE MIDDLE PASSAGE by CLARENCE MAJOR DOMESDAY BOOK: DR. BURKE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EXEKIEL, DANIEL by MARIANNE MOORE |