LARRY LEVIS'
OPPOSUM
Has sharp
teeth
Little incisors
Black lips
Bright red
gums
Roams the
avenues
Lives at
Wilshire
And Santa
Monica
Sleeps in
sewers
Sleeps in
fountains
And sinks
Is five years
old
Could scare a
goat
Could sever a
hand
Ate a dead
squirrel
Where no one
could see
But they came
for him
Stumbling out
of bars
Pointed and
ran
Turned their
heads
Someone tried
to kick him
Someone threw
a rock
That crashed
through a windshield
(They swear)
They wanted
to help him
Surrounded
him
As if to clear
the street
Of the moving
traffic
He barred his
teeth
Nothing could
be done
He couldn't
hide
From the
young boy
Clutching the
phone
Who watched
him sleep
In his
mother's marigolds
He called the
people
with
the noose and the pole
Told them to
hurry
His sister
makes a sandwich
In the
darkened kitchen
With silent
disapproval
She removes
the crust
Turns toward
the stairs
He asks her
to stay
|