Truth

Truth

Somewhere there is a small room with one thin-framed bed 

and a mattress with a yellowed fitted sheet pulled taut.

And on this bed there is a mother splayed and grasping 

with two hands on her lower back, mouth ahowl and eyebrows 

up with disbelief.

Someone has stepped on a crack

Two hands grip her lower back

Two shards stab her bowing rack

Somewhere in the world a child

Somewhere in the twirl a mild foot

tripped the trigger 

Some small foot skipped a beat 

Some tall boot kicked a mother

Our mother on her back

and of howl

She howled and her eyebrows 

couldn’t believe it

Her belief was beating her heart out

til the blood came all over the floor

If you don’t crack 

when you step 

on your mother 

your mother will crack you back

Your brother will howl all night

Night trees will push up squares of sidewalk 

like they can’t take it anymore

They can’t take more more

When you hop on the scotch 

so you land pin pointed on the square

You save the world You save it

You save the world with your hop

You stave off the howls 

with your one leg good

I know you can do it

I know you know your feet 

on concrete You know every crack 

between here and High Street