issue 36 > poetry > gibson

1932: the Dust Bowl: five kids sleep on cots, open tent-flap:
Is that worn out woman ma or grandma resting beside them?

1919: A syphilis ward: old men line up in gowns next to beds;
they’re indigents: Do doctors need permission to test them?

1961: Young men hide their faces heading to the paddy wagon
from a park bathroom: Will pleas of no contest be offered to them?

1955: It’s a family reunion: the children sit on grass and laps:
Which of the uncles will become a pariah for molesting them?

1912: It’s boxer Jack Johnson facing charges under the Mann Act:
Is the white woman his girl or a prostitute when they arrest him? 






Also by Stephen Gibson:

Cribs
Rome