Poem-a-Day DBF countdown: Karen G.
The Aug. 26 cover story “Monsters of Poetry” puts the spotlight on the poet’s art to preview the fourth annual Decatur Book Festival, to be held Sep. 4-6. This blog will count down the days to the festival by posting a poem each day by a different writer, to let the verse speak for itself. For Aug. 29, “Summer City Python” by Karen G.
“Summer City Python”
Nothing brings out the smell of poverty
like Georgia summer heat.
We become cats clawing for scraps
our gazes harden into chain link fences
and there it is--
the rising fetid perfume of dumpster
termite wood and bathroom
meeting with magnolia, gardenia, honeysuckle
overly sweet with the tacky pink of mimosa flower
--familiarize your cheap shoe sole
melting on the sizzling asphalt
the man on the corner screaming about
the Lord coming, another sipping paper bag at 9 am
and we’re just fumbling for the token change
MARTA buses slow and late
struggling for survival like the boys in big neck chains
of dubious metallic origin
and ankled low-riders.