John William Corrington
on my 18th birthday
this is the sum of it:
what i can expect
from bones has
succinctly arrived
skin has done its
part
time of gratuities is ending:
tony's sister will ask
for a fin: free juice is
memory; a lump of boy
is snuffling in my
throat
birthday
ends a barefoot deluge
of
interminable dry runs:
the next rap could be scary and adult; the
next misstep may draw
some of my wonderful
blood
my analyst
a black barber who sips
adrenalin
and barbecues like a god
gave me a slip of paper
tied with some dental
floss:
for birthday
it said
—you must have learned
you can eat almost anything
and almost everything
will certainly try to
eat you
this is for the winner
to clean his teeth
from now on a haircut is six bits
John William Corrington, Collected Poems, CreateSpace Independent
Publishing
Platform, 2013.