Midge Sue could never please her mother
She was an outcast, not her brother
If she folded clothes, her mother would refold them
Laundry was never expected of brother, Jim
If Midge Sue cleaned the kitchen, it was not good enough
You are a female, her mother said, you need to get tough
No one was tougher than her mother
Who also favored Midge’s little stepbrother.
If Midge Sue prepared a meal, it was deemed “bad”.
Her mother’s negative opinions made her sad.
When she was eighteen, Midge Sue left home for good.
Found her tribe, who built her up, said that she could.
No one put her down, they built her up and loved her too.
She never returned home, our wise woman, Midge Sue.
Sue felt strongly that Chet had murdered his missing wife
When he offered her rides in his truck, her hair stood up straight.
She felt threatened by him without knowing why.
He looked normal, but something felt amiss.
He gave her the creeps.
She told her relatives about her feelings.
He is okay, Uncle Todd said.
Nothing wrong with him agreed Aunt Sandy.
Twenty-two years later Chet was convicted to 15 years
after his wife’s body was found
Forensics proved she had been murdered in his pickup truck.
He set up his weekend
By texting Susie
Susan, Sue, Suzette
Suzanne and Suzy
But he mixed up his Z’s
Ettes, ans, and I E’s
They hollered and cursed
So each name he rehearsed
He went out with Suzy
That’s Sue with a Z
Before dating Susie
Ending in I E
Then Susan called up
To go for a date
Yet was it Suzanne
Whom he saw of late?
While out with Suzy
Susan he did see
Or was it Suzette
With her T T E
No matter the Sue
That came onto him
He dated each one
And they called him Tim
But Suzy turned iffy
She left in a jiffy
And Sue, he knew
Was always quite blue
He grew tired of Susan
Who was always snoozin’
While Suzette, did get
Herself into debt
He kept seeing Suzanne
Who paid her own way
But she disappeared
Tuesday or Friday
Though he saw many Sues
This man was quite shy
But felt very lucky
All were worth a try
But he always had
His eyes set on Susie
Who was his true Sue
Plus Susie did choose he
Sue's possession
You may think that I am crazy,
just cos I talk to the dead,
telepathic works quite well,
dem thought inside your head,
your turn to make the coffee,
Yet, her thoughts inside me say,
she doesn't really waffle,
says almost ought today,
Lizoni says it takes 40 days,
spirit cleansing of disease,
when Sue jumps in my body,
I have a nasty wheese,
If first I ask her questions,
the answers quickly hear,
possession gives you strength old mate,
when friends, so close, are near,
So when she cleans her spirit,
and health is burning strong,
“your'e coming back” Sue hear it,
to where you “still belong”!
Don Johnson
it started
as fevered
bee sting
on tongue—
then lips
gone
like beaver-gnawed
tree stumps—
then the chin
till like
some ruined
Greek statue
you lay
still
awaiting
a new chance—
the planting
in warm earth
to grow again
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