My young brother with mint eyes
And hair buzzed for summer
Got stuck under a mean old lady’s fence.
Her mastiff ripped at his little feet.
She stood at the window smiling
With a double-edged bloodstained walker.
It was hot and rain fell in muddy drops.
A cluster of chocolate chips
Melted in my pocket.
I dipped and sucked my fingers in horror,
Not knowing what to do.
Poor little blond-haired Michael who loved cotton candy
And laughed at my father’s gas.
We walked home scared. Michael
Sobbed and I picked lint from my teeth.
I brought him cold grape juice and toilet paper
To wrap his feet in, and told him to be thankful
For his ribs, which she would have eaten first.