new poem

To Jason

your stepfather,
the fifth grade science teacher,
treated your mother very, very
badly

so eventually her eyes became so bruised
she started wearing these jumbo-sized
sunglasses, the ones from Jewel-Osco,
and her friend Beth, the only one left,
would ask your mother daily,

"Susan, what's with the sunglasses?",

and your mother would just lie and
we'd just get high in the attic
while your mother and stepfather would fight

until one night
when the police pulled up
to your house and your stepfather,
the fifth grade science teacher,
was gone for good and

we drank the rest of his beer
and like three years later I heard
you went to prison
for possesion so

I hope you don't get raped.