Lexicon
I asked
what do you do for a living
and there was silence
I asked again
socially
just to fill the empty spaces
this time to find a silence
before he said
*********** with a pause
child ***********
do you mind.
Once painting a house
in trade for a much appreciated car
I pulled a bed out
to discover
soft
padded
metal rings
chained on every corner
what are these I asked
not socially for I was really curious
I didn’t need to know he told me
hiding his padded handcuffs
deep under the covers.
Walking home one night
I found myself yelling foul mouthed
fear filled obscenities
at two laughing boys
as they ran their car straight at me
no deviation, no variation in line
just the screech of the oil pan
the spray of hot oil
hissing onto the street
as it hit the tall curb.
not thinking
they meant to kill me
not thinking of pain
not thinking of deviations
or small deaths
some days my naiveté’s frighten me
if I have the words.
* the vocabulary of a particular social class, language, social class….
Copyright © Mage Bailey | Year Posted 2020
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