Читать книгу Hustle - David Tomas Martinez - Страница 9

2.

Yes, families are supposed to be circuses.

Accept it, and accept that the acrobat’s taffy

of satin will twirl, and the bears in tutus will spin

over the exposes in the warped wood

and cracks in the waxy linoleum,

all the while your grandfather will yell

You no like it, go in the canyon and eat tomatoes.

Avoid his boots from under the Mercury Marquis.

Accept your aunt, the invisible lady, naked in the yard,

mustached and fat, fixing her car’s transmission

by sanding moons on the body at night.

Listen to your cousin make beats

and let his sister teach you the “Dougie”

while their mother juggles meth and late rent fees.

Accept it. There is knife throwing with your uncles.

Children run the streets yelling while you drink soda

from a straw in a sandwich bag, and watch

morning jump through a flaming hoop

to avoid the insult of a whip. Afternoon

stands on her hind legs and opens wide, showing

missing teeth. Accept that night stays in his cage.

Remember all that you see. Memory is a fist to the eye.