1
beneath fresno p.d. white sheet slides
high fructose corn syrup and food coloring (red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake,
yellow 6, yellow 5)
seeps across the sidewalk
little brown girl with oaxacan eyes watches death
as it creeps toward her dora the explorer sneakers
with no recollection of a time
when we once bled blood.

2
we hit liq.’s, bust back, and scream into open gutters.
spread our legs across car hoods
for bus passes and egg mcmuffins.
hide in our own ear canals and watch our knuckle-hair growth
on youtube videos from a telescope.
we drink from liquor puddles in back streets
and paint red clown smiles across our noses.
we don’t call love anything but bad timing
and back away slowly.

3
we face each other
naked in your bed, room, house
and i teach your hands how to run like water
over my breasts.

we undress next to each other
your bra full and running over
my bra neat and quiet
our panties laced
and we giggle at the history of lies in our reflections.

in the street you drop a quarter
and i place it in your palm
and we look at each other in the face
see there are lashes and mouths and freckles and wrinkles
realize you are me, me is you
walk away with smiles and nods and thank-yous and beauty