poem of the day 07.30.15

my new friend

chung shows me his braces

he’s proud of the metal on his teeth

all i can do is stare

at a piece of something white caught in them

wonder if it’s bread or something else

i stomach a lot but certain foods get me

giving the cat tuna is enough to knock me on my ass

i tell chung, all right, enough about the braces

to get him to close his mouth

but he say, i don’t think my grandma loves me

my one grandma does, he says

but the one i live with, she just yells at me

because sometimes i forget to come home

chung volunteers here

sometimes he forgets to come in on saturdays

but we always give him a second and third chance

he says, why do you think my grandma yells at me

i don’t know, kid, i tell him

maybe you’re out of chances with her

i can still see that piece of white stuck in his braces

wonder how the kid is talking with that

a piece of lettuce in my teeth is enough for an epileptic fit

maybe she’s just worried, i tell chung

she’s mean, he says

but everyone is mean to chung

the adults in here

most of the kids i see him wrestling around with

he’s a good, dumb kid

the world will take advantage of chung

until he has nothing left to give it

but servitude and quiet benevolence

i just want my grandma to love me, he says

i’m sure she does, i say

but what do i know?

in america families gun each other down

like they’re taking on enemy combatants

you got something in your braces, i finally tell chung

he puts a whole hand in his mouth

works to dig the piece of white out until it’s gone

he flicks it away and i watch it slop on the floor

look up to see chung’s hand extended, ready to shake mine

thanks, he says

as we shake

but i’m not so sure which hand

he flicked that food off with.