GGGGGGGGGGGGG
-- for John Tarrant
&&&&&&5:3O
a.m.
&&&&&&downtown
ghetto Richmond
&&&&&&winter
still black
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmorning
&&&&&&I
get out of the car, but gas
&&&&&&station
attendent disappears
&&&&&&behind
the bullet-proof
ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppplexiglass
window
&&&&&&as
two black guys approach
&&&&&&high
on blow...
tttttttttttttttttttttttthe
tall one wants a dollar
tttttttttttttttttttttttfor
gas, the fat one
ttttttttttttttttttttttta
cigarette--both happily given
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno
sense of fear
&&&&&&the
tall one goes to his truck
&&&&&&to
write down his number
&&&&&&should
I hear of a hauling job
&&&&&&(the
long-shot, his desperation
&&&&&&to
find work "anywhere, even Sacramento"
&&&&&&--he
claims eleven children
&&&&&&&
it's the week before Christmas
hhhhhhhhhhhhthe
fat one is mumbling
hhhhhhhhhhhh&
making strange hand gestures
hhhhhhhhhhhhbut
when I look into his eyes
hhhhhhhhhhhhthere's
a presence between us
hhhhhhhhhhhh&
fumbling with his hands again
hhhhhhhhhhhhhe
says, "I can't express myself..."
I say,"you're doing fine"
he holds both his arms out, wide
saying,"it's so big"
"yes," I say,"it's
big and beyond words"
"you understand," he says,"most
people don't understand"
"yes"
then he gives me a hug
until the tall one comes back
but his pen is hollow
where once was its cartridge
so he returns to the truck
ttttttttttttttttthe
fat one says,
tttttttttttttttt"I'm
a fisherman too, I come from the sea"
tttttttttttttttt"brother,
we all come from the sea"
ttttttttttttttttwhich
brings him to hug me again
ttttttttttttttttuntil
the tall one returns
ttttttttttttttttwith
wet, blue numbers
ttttttttttttttttssssssssssssssssssssssssmeared
tttttttttttttttton
a tatter of paper, barely legible
nnnnnow
the fat one wants to write
nnnnhis
name & number, which he scrawls
nnnnsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstudiously
nnnnas I think,
"getting later & later for dokusan"
nnnnttttttthen
realize
nnnnttttttit's
happening
nnnnttttttnow
tttt
This poem first appeared in Blind Donkey, and was later anthologized in What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop, (Parallax Press) Gary Gach, ed.
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