Poet Laundry: It's Not What You Thought it Was

Showing posts with label It's Not What You Thought it Was. Show all posts

Monday, June 16, 2025

Honest Lee stepped out of a dime western—

wavy brown hair, chestnut mustache,

six-shooter on his thigh.

Not anybody’s prairie girl,

I knew which one of us was a lie—

even with his black olive eyes,

black as my lil’ ol’ pea pickin’ heart.

Therapy popped you out again

like a rotten vegetable in the garden—

the twelve years

I spent as your sponge,

and now, the boxes I’ve spent

too much time going through

while you sip matcha lattes

bought with the green money of my soul.

You insect,

still squiggly on the microscope slide—

but, as therapy goes,

I’m meant to look,

rummage through the ghost files,

craft taxonomy from crazy.

But, from the way I see it

now, buzz off—

you should be the one

in here.