little boy

If you chose a pretty kimono when you dressed that morning
At seven say, with much to do in the day, just to get by, you
Would have found the flowers on the print of your kimono
Etched into your skin, by eight, if you belonged to the lucky.

If custom stood you on the wrong side of town, which was
Most of town, hurrying to get to school or work or - you
Would have found yourself carbonated, mid-thought,
Pretty dress, too pretty for me, why is life –

If your eyes survived to see a sight they could but
Comprehend as the predicted end of all things
(Which it also was), then the maggots that will roost
Within you testify. To the endurance of life.


28.03.06