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

 

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