Redact
I did damage tonight—
Wounded her as vaccine,
poking her in the paunch
to stave off teasing.
I’m hungry, she’d said; and all she craved
was bread.
At bedtime she cried and blamed
her brother. But I knew how
my dispatch would implode.
Who among you throws
the surest stone?
My parents left
the boys to redact me.
Did that hurt more
or less
than writing this poem?
redaction n.
ReplyDelete1. the placing of pants back upon you
2. a socialist enthusiasm
3. insistence of the state that old duds be worn again
4. any or all of the above may be combined, as long as no seams show
5. any or all could be an embarrassment (as later revealed in the face)
ReplyDelete6. the face denuded
ReplyDelete