Dividing an elementary class into
boys on one side
girls on the other
invites each to imagine one group’s got
cooties! cooties! cooties!
and vulnerable to those who thrive on power
yet united, we eliminate disease, produce
thriving meccas of cultural exchange,
launch ourselves through the universe…
so if you’re invulnerable to ads and rhetoric,
think about a lemon–
thrust your teeth through thick
yellow skin to release zest’s
zinging scent and swallow
tart
puckering
juice.
That saliva now beading your gums…
Thank you to the editors of The Tishman Review for first publishing this poem.
