slim finger laid against Her tightly pursed lips
dividing the course craven hairs cowering atop,
bitter dark chocolate percolating in each crusty corner.
around the room She is drifting, elbows winging:
brillowed black hair and a serious snoot
She is maneuvering shin sharp tables
surrounded by trippable chairs
wafts of paints, crayons, and cookies flow on the air

and with leering looks of incredulity and scorn She
reduces him to dust five times a day
assessing his paper, grabbing his crayons,
proclaiming scribble scrabble,
pushing toward him a single leaden pencil
thus watering and sunshining seeds of self hate
planted by his divided parents
She pushes them deeper into underdeveloped
tissue soft recesses close to the bone
a reminder forever

of shoes too big for too small feet,
feet that refuse to fall in line
puffy pull-up threatening the elastic in his jeans
hang dog expression hardening his face of
translucent skin framed by fine orange hair,
crooked saucers astride his head
eyes round with shame
sitting in a chair at the back of the room
in permanent pout

while the good, the blessed with clean clothes
sit criss cross each pinned to a colorful carpet square
embracing Her pecking-order, they’ve outgrown the
need for a nap, and have flexible fingers producing tenuous letters
on white boards in their laps while Her talonous pointer lands
primly on each dear page of the glossy picture book