The Anti-Graces 

by Forrest Rapier

I worked night shifts I was up to my elbows in rye
Dough making shine rise the bread every morning
I worked in the dark it was August

The fish jumped
Right in the boat like my lap was the lake
And I ate good by fire

There was Sejalbo and McMinn they were two-headed
Like two lizards locked together in one body

Rocket had a scar on his lip he split it bad
Riding a Penny board through the snake ditch
His sunwhite scar shoots down
From his mouth like lightning
Frowning

There was Fussy Bird she never
Stopped running off she always
Came back with strays

I would’ve been locked-in if she was singing tonight but
She got really sick last weekend so
I decided to not care that’s so funny that’s so you

Petit bisou petit bisou

If I lived where you lived I’d eat there all the time
They’d be like this bitch again

There was Leo who threw a little weight around
On the Bow-Flex he set up in his front yard
He hit the bench in the snow he hit the bench
In the rain he hit light work all day what a king

I heard mom and dad were thinking about coming
To visit they were checking up on me about the hurricane
The storm is supposed to hit Wednesday through Saturday
It was a really good drink you would’ve loved it
Not too abrasively sweet

There was Lake with the skinned knees
He lived on his SpitFire wheels he’d kickflip
His Thrasher deck he flipped his truck he went
Upside-down behind the wheel of his Tacoma

I walked to his truck when he went to leave I told him no
I said don’t leave he said he wanted to see his