he's telling again
the same old vagina joke

i listen and keep quiet
once i kept trying
today i can't even fake a smile

again, he fell asleep on the sofa
saliva drips on his undershirt
next to him a wrinkled paper

i don't try
today i don't even bother
to wake him up and tell him
it's better if he goes to bed

lately he started picking in the garbage
looking for i don't know what
brings home stuff he finds on the streets

once i used to argue
to shout don't turn the place into a warehouse
today i give up
and without him noticing
throw it all out

© 1996. All Rights Reserved.
Zemach Zohar Wilson, New York City