Listen to this poem
the abrupt rush of fist to face. Hush the scuffle, the raw knuckles, the buckling knees. Hush the leather-belt beatings. Hush the hollers that ricochet over rooftops. Hush the 30 years of broomstick battles over borrowed shoes and broken heels. Hush the hand-me-down addictions. Hush the silent suburbs, the secret abortions. Hush the touching. Hush the brother who said, This is how you learn to love. Hush the mouths that swell with lies. Hush the garish garland of obscenities. Hush the tugged hair, torn shirt, pride in the punch well landed. Hush the skin-scraping stillness of blacktop and bruises opening like wild irises. Hush the headache behind your eyes. Hush the moan of approaching sirens. Hush the shuffling shadows, the silhouetted witnesses. Hush the pressing charges. Pressing. Charging. Like the bulls of Pamplona, a full 400 years of fury in the blood.
