I have been alive
I have been
alive and I
have been
gone missing
I have been the
mishmash
middle
I have been
the love
of one man’s life
and the evil
who must be
high and holy
dealt with
these testaments
must be truth—for
I have been alive
I have gone missing
I have been loved
and I have heard
the charlatans shriek
their whispers
shelf life
the curers
locked me in
4 times in 6 months,
twice on death row—
my crime
fabricated
to fit their
mold
their cure best as
could be billed
before released on
my own recognizance
3March2014
my haunch stamped
with a best-by date
no dyeing in machines
at the apartment complex we leased
where roaches herded back and forth
on toxins through thin walls
of neighbors we hadn’t time to meet
poolside on Ellison
was included washer-dryer amenity
ran on unwritten schedule
we hadn’t time to learn
before bustled out of honeymoon seclusion
I managed to work a few loads in,
made a white bathmat blush under
a NO DYEING IN MACHINES sign
the landlady fined us for breaking lease
stole our nightlight with a skeleton key
most likely
refuted the roaches to her dying day
Where to find Wanda Morrow Clevenger:
Wanda Morrow Clevenger is the author of This Same Small Town in Each of Us.
Amazon Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/author/
