The One in the Hat

No not that one—                    What happened
the one in the hat                     what happened
whose cunning knife                after I left
finds pit and bone                    on the early train
her Osage eyes                       my eyes afire
trained on him                          in thirteenth year


suicide’s child                          stepfather’s moll
copper coin                              a  treasure for him
rolling to him                            ah that walk
rolling slow                               down spiny aisle
giving it time                             letting it show
so college boys                        in dim cafe     
cold hands                                hidden
in armpits                                  sweating
drawn to copper                        girl bright girl
fire alight                                   ah the burn
all eyes on her                          the Osage girl  
 
 
desire her rise                           in a red hat
her hopeful fall                          down chokeberry lane
her child’s mouth                      crammed with fruit
thirteen pennies                        a basket, a tasket
in her bank                                so few coins
her copper glance                     a lost world
coin of the realm                       in upturned hand.