roger
by Grace-Ann Duncan
was I in r.e.m.?
not the band
but the movement
you were hot sauce
a root canal--no novocaine
hot stove--no oven mitts
you were my father
sputtering curses, an empty spray can
you were like Christmas
you were a winter sweater
the smell of cedar and sandalwood
your hair impressed me
it must’ve been r.e.m.:
Macbeth was science
Shakespeare won an Oscar
Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes
were still alive
Fuck Ted Hughes