Ma and Pa arguing
again, About how to fold
a blanket, I swear, After
twenty-six years of marriage
Think they’d had figured it out

but here she comes to
Save the day, Grandma
with stale coffee, fresh perm, and a story
from the Forest Trail school days

So Mr. Debrokah was a real mean bugger
with the Strap, you see
really took it out on
Dennis, your uncle, and his best friend, Johny Gee
there wasn’t much to do on Forest Trail
for fun, so Dennis and Johny Gee would make their own
and one time, to get back at old Debrokah, the bugger,
they took his trombone, turned it upside down, and filled it
full of Pee, so the next day, the bugger is gonna blow his horn
and when old Debrokah put it up to his lips
it was all he could do not to look like a Lemon, and you better believe that
Dennis and Johny Gee got the Strap for that stunt

then later on
Dennis mixed one two many pills
with a bottle of booze
Shake-Rattle-n-Seizure-n
Johny Gee let his liver s-erode
to a point a little past healthy
Her two little boys that made their own
Fun at Forest Trail ended up
Dead

but Grandma, she knows
that character all too well
third person to get the cobalt for cancer
back in the ‘58 that was
already birthed up seven screamers
before that
watched a man get caught
in the threshing machine
all arms and ripped, legs tangled
when she cooked on the line

so she knows
about all a person can do
is put seeds in the ground every spring
and keep a hearty smile on her face
Home is where your Grandma ism