six years or more
the same coat I wore
my company, it was
it’s loving care, I chose

May twenty-fifth, today
coat was pulled away

her tiny hand
anchored around
my trusting finger
thrusts me forth
through life’s oceans

in my care
my rose pink cargo
will softly sail
till

I wiped my tears
with the coarse cuff
of the torn shirt
showing bruises
brought on me
by the man
who fears me
–Shawn S.

acid, pot, valium
sense of high, delirium
come no where close
to this…

hint of opera in what I hear
Gucci and Versace, what they

Eastern seaboard sees the sun
while Western seaboard, we dream

while Cuban Miami sets salsa to motion
and rugged Maine picks lobster from ocean

we,

in my war with my belly
I’m at a standstill

spinning weights
‘cross elliptical trajectory
while food-boarding enemy
per Atkins and South Beach
torture manuals

Oh Mississippi
how I crave
riding your crust
from northern cold
to southern creole

Oh Mississippi
how your mighty
lethargic bloat
bursts barriers
of our

is there a bus where
blacks, whites
reds, yellows
the rainbow is accepted?

is there a place where
compassion, acceptance
tolerance, love
humanity is greeted?

blended feelings of
love, cigarettes
strong coffee
as
pregnant, moody clouds
over
piercing hustle
of moody crowds
yawn open
my eyes
–Shawn S. Zahedi

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