By CJ Sommerfeld, Staff Writer
I
counterfeiting
aesthetic. not admitting
the origins of all you own
were neither by choice nor new
hoping others havenât caught on,
unwittingÂ
II
through the un-mowed grass
segmenting
antâs bodies into three
no oneâs around to tell you that the red ones bite
antâs bodies into three
segmenting
through the un-mowed grass
III
the weathered neighbor who eats
canned cat food has come around to sell her plants
again. your illiterate mother
reminds you to stay in school
IV
boredom is a mythical creatureÂ
when money doesnât do things for you
forced resourcefulnessÂ
when money doesn’t decide things for you
a creative-breeding teacher
when money doesnât buy things for you
autonomous procedure
V
field study: the outsider is always positioned
to analyze
un-unanimous with the highest registerÂ
un-succumbed to emotion, instead a logical
comprehension, like looking into a sea of tea
when the waves calm before reaching the beach
a liquid window, waters paralyzed
VI
we had less fears than our middle
class counterparts
theirs: instilled by the watchful
eye of a hovering parent
ours: come later after living a bit
VII
in sociology class we learnt
that when a child is asked
what they want to be when they grow up,
theyâll name a job which adults around them have
kids raised in low-income neighborhoods will say
something like grocery clerk
whereas kids whoâve grown-up in an elevated
one will list titles that elicit better responses
VIII
At what age do we start recognizing disapproving looks from others?
IX
Terry Fox tee, learning not to look long
in the mirror above the brass horse statuettesâRobin Richardson
Zellers sweats, smell like mumâs cigarettes
hair a mess in mismatched barrettes
on the shelf scuffed and caseless, analog videocassettesÂ
X
blinded by the dystopia of government housing
and inner-city schools
we made the front page
The little school that could
because something happened which society
didnât associate to derelictsÂ
XI
over-ripe fruit and skunk
a cursory whiff from across the carpet-stained
living room
once I mistook one for pop
it wasnât as sickly sweet as it smelt
instead, aqueous metal
I wondered why all the adults in the neighborhood
always had one in hand
XII
open-ended ventures
propagated divergent conjectures
inventor uncensored
XIII
the rest now: counterfeiting
aesthetic. not admitting
the origins of all you own
duplicating
what weâve created through our lifetime
adopted artistry
hoping others havenât caught on,
unwittingÂ
