I Guess
Right after my parents’ divorce,
people blurted the single question
they’d been dying to ask for years.
How’d they last a day?
I am lining my memories up against the wall.
They are begging me for reprieve. Here is the night
I found you on the floor, folded
like laundry.
As son
& mother.
Welfare.
State surplus
peanut butter,
cheese, & smiles
for Mr. Sullivan’s
monthly inspection
to certify our poverty.
Down Syndrome Larry, my favorite
guy in the residence, the perfect
blend of Pillsbury Dough Boy
and Charlie Chaplin, all gap toothed
grins, warm cuddles and charm
bowing to kiss my aunt’s hand
when she gave him a silver dollar
the Christmas I brought him home
I’m the Lebron James
of local bureaucrats.
Give me a project
and I’ll manage it
step by step like a PMP
using the waterfall method.
A microwave is my savior; I shall not starve.