Vincent Poturica

House keeping

Because I’m cultivating
a friendship with Death.
And because my wife
loves me as I am,

I’m not so bothered by
the clouds pretending
to be turds, or by the
seagulls squawking a

terrific chorus of Fuck
you. The alley behind
our building is not a river.
Capitalism is not capable

of fair play. I can’t levitate
silverware with my mind.
But today I will clean the
kitchen with reverence.

international development

once upon a time
seven years ago
while trying to survey
a section of el petén
by counting our footsteps
I asked the village elder
leading the way
how much farther
we needed to walk
before stopping for lunch
(I was hungry & the
bees would not stop
sucking the sweat
from my t-shirt)
the man smiled
at me & the bees
(his shirt was dry)
then he opened his mouth
& pointed at the pink stub
where his tongue
should have been
the army cut it out
luis explained
(luis had been a soldier)
I said claro & nodded
& the village elder began
walking again in his slow
limping way & I realized
that what I’d thought was
the wind rushing between
the trees or possibly
the low hum of the bees
was the sound of this man
without a tongue
trying to whistle

The extra ridge on my shoulder leftover from my twice-broken collarbone. Also, a top made from an acorn that an old man gave me in a park near the St. Louis Zoo. And a marble egg that I won in a Turkish raffle (I was told that it would boost my fertility). I like scars and unexpected gifts.