A Poem a day rerelease of Permanent Damage

I almost killed my sister when,

To see what would happen,

I was dropping bricks to the sidewalk with Frankie

Off his dingy second story white frame porch

Next to Pumpilio’s cinder covered truck lot

Where flattened cats swarmed with maggots

And bums slept in trailers parked up against the Soo Line

At the back of the lot.

A brick hurtled toward my sister’s long black braids

Like a meteorite from second story space

Before she paid some department store girl in Goldblatt’s

To cut all her hair off.

My mother maybe cried for days

After she marched my sister back to the store

Where I’m sure a lengthy discussion with grown up words ensued.

With split second timing

Saving me from a lifetime of remorse and explaining

One of my girl cousins or somebody

Pushed or pulled and the brick hit the sidewalk

With unspectacular result.

The incident opened my mouth to a perfect O

Until a nun at Saint John’s

Latched onto my ear

And marched me out to the hall sink

Where she attempted to wash away my sins

And seal my mouth with many applications of flax soap

Doing the opening and closing mechanism permanent damage.