In a conversation about the fiftieth anniversary of MLK Jr.’s assassination my father says,
“They don’t kill no one important in the U.S. no mo’.”
and how easy he forgets.
how a happy home dies in a snapshot.
how language is loaded.
how i was raised loaded for bear.
how he been a half-cocked father.
how my brother got swallowed by a barrel.
how that’s his own forgotten blood not even 10 years gone.
how gaping the vacancy beside my mother at his funeral.
how he go exit wound whenever he see fit.
how he sweat bullets when we question his absence.
how I’m a short-tempered straight shooter triggered to go ballistic.
how he return ready w/ silencer anytime i shoot off my mouth.
how he the reason I ain’t never been no stranger to the business end of a gun.
how he ain’t never mean no harm, he just shooting the breeze.