on the shore / she gave birth, a Japanese soldier / stabled her with his horse. carved / teeth into dice. if they landed even /   a woman was shot. odd / & rape instead. sometimes / death can wait for a man to open his pants.

My father ate fire from bottles that burst / when emptied—sharp embers I learned / to tread across without being burned.

We call this the ordeal blues / Now crawl to the piano seat and make a blanket for your cell / Paint scenes of a child dancing up to the court appearance / And leaving a man, / but not for home