Thursday, January 26, 2017

Booker T

Esmeralda owned her home.
She teased me about my t-shirts.
She gave me fried fish for which
I paid her eight dollars.
She said, you could
Clean up good.

Esmeralda managed the community center.
Three girls sat on the sign out front.
Their after school program. Could you
Make a better one? Could you
Explain the laughter in that place? Could you
Explain to Booker T Washington the
Spiritual practice of Zumba in the building
Bearing his name?

The building bore birthdays
The building bore boxing boys
The smell of freshly waxed
linoleum in the morning and the
man, unnamed to us, whose footsteps made
that machine move.

Carol woke up early at 4pm

To Zumba before cleaning toilets.

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