Until yesterday, I hadn’t run into Dan
In a few years, so was surprised
To see his hair still black, his body
Still muscled, with only the slightest
Hint of a beer belly. “I was never much
Into drinking. I smoke weed after work.”
“Still, man, you look great! Look at me!”
“You know, I’m half Asian.”
“Well, I’m 100% Asian,
And I look like shit.”
Dan said his mom had just died, so
He had to hustle home to make a pot
Of chili to bring to his dad in Fogelsville.
His brother, Cyrus, was in jail again,
For, what else, dealing drugs. Dan
Used to be his brother’s partner until
He got an office job 25 years ago. Once
When he was really trashed, he told me
About killing some black guy with Cyrus,
But I never got to the bottom of it. Now,
Dan’s a good dad and husband, with two
Nice houses, one in Sea Isle, New Jersey.
White hair runs in my family. We’re all born
With white hair sprouting from our hearts,
And though we appear so ancient tumbling
From that tunnel, we stay immature
Until we’re laid out in that final box.
A shutterbug, Dan shoots pedestrians as he
Rides his bike to and from work, or as he walks
His shih tzu. “People are very odd animals.”
With bodies coming in waves, causing awe
And arousal, we raise machines to our faces.
Freakish being, come here. No less odd, I touch
Your head like I’m your dad, but I’m not your dad,
Since you’re my mom, but I don’t quite know that,
So in my confusion, I kiss your forehead, then
Your closed eyelids. Since we don’t know how
To do anything according to nature or nurture,
We lie perfectly still until the eyes are away.