"my name is river"
carlos says my face
resembles
a frenzy of boiling rivers.
this is the only compliment
my face
has ever recieved.
every morning
since i was five
i've begged the mirror to lie.
mirrors are the most honest
people i know.
carlos describes girls.
how they taste like stale popcorn,
feel like an old couch,
how they invite through eyes,
stamp out through scorn.
i'll get you a girl, someday,
he promises, blind, drunk or crazy.
every morning
since i was five
i remember daddy, acid and sirens.
my cheekbones were soft,
people all around me, screaming
stay calm, stay calm.
carlos calls me River.
it's one of the kindest things
anyone has ever said.
someday i'm going to get married,
father beautiful children,
drunk, blind or crazy.
the mirror will lie,
the itch behind my eyes will fade
and the frenzy of rivers
will blend into a calming of sea.
dear daddy, i'll write,
my name is river, i am your son.
© 2009 Derek Richards
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