Farm by Anonymous

coil oven sky
i cross the street 
with a head full of ink
ahead and a pocket of beginnings
a garden plot with seedlings
and a woman in yellow smiling at me 
i am trying to remember 
if i know her from school or work
the sky is cloudy but no there won’t be rain yet i think

i buy tights at Capezio from a girl named Tina
her husband calls as i hand her my money

and i regret not buying the sailboat

when i was nine 
the key to my socialization 
was my dad’s taxicab and the Upper East Side
and climbing the hill that got there 
Denise Mayira and her lunch by limo 
they were delivered every day at half past 12 
they were never late
her mother told me that voodoo came from Haiti 
and not Africa
and this where babies come from said Natalie
she was older and had her period
and the orange mouth of a cave 
in St Marc

i wear a tie on my first day of school
it makes me tough and butch 
like Madame Stravinska 
who explained that a jette was important in ballet 
it was the beginning of a jump 
Walter isn’t here yet 
and i’m waiting 
i’m drinking and i have his ring 
the couple at the bar are making out 
the old guy in the corner is watching them 
i’m watching him watch them