amphibi.us

The stoic man with the fake beard
like bootleg cotton candy,
stationed in front of Rite Aid
swung a mean bell.

So mean I couldn’t tell
he only did it one month a year.

Waiting for my transfer to the 94
on my way to junior college,
I walked up to his red pot,
nodded,
and dropped in
thirty-seven cents.

The stoic man with fake beard
like bootleg cotton candy,
looked me up and down
and the second person retort
went,
“You cheap mother fucker…”
And I stopped believing in Santa.

© Daniel Romo, 2010

[others]

rum sent to africa
africans made slaves
slaves brought to the west indies
to farm sugar cane
to make molasses
to sell to america
to make the rum
to send to africa
to trade for
africans

© Ricardo Nazario y Colón, 2010