also, for the wastelands

shepherds of the ghetto

dirty-navel interrogation

fingers learning to scour

hearts balancing on gritty 

stoops. another sunshine

we count these, & all 

better days against the 

countertop. doom running

before the afternoon cutoff

izzy rubbing his cancer

daddy, with his habit

& brighter things. a dusty

box of candy cigarettes. an

ocean. an unsettled island

of us, floating out.