Poetry by J. Pharoah Doss

TWO POEMSBy J. Pharoah DossSaturday, July 23, 2011.BLINKING GREENmy home town’s corners are crackedcrumbled a 24 hour rush houra no big deal traffic jambetween broken borough lightsblinking greencracked glass, busted pipe dreams,& magazine shells litter cracked sidewalksdriven by the night beforeafternoon crack sells & cracked knuckle brawlsentertain cracking up crumb snatchersreturning from crumbling schoolsevery evening street strung high heels barter crack headbehind corner stores robbed by numskullscoroners eventually examinefrom boarded basementsand the corner stoned saved peekfrom behind crackedchurch doorsSPOILED    She bragged about spoiling her three childrenI didn’t understand why a parent would boast about purposely flawing a child’s character     through indulgenceThen I remembered a lot of parents make no distinction between parenting and providing    But she bragged: MY KIDS DON’T WANT FOR NOTHINGThe comment amused me because as long as I lived I’ve never heard a child say:     MOMMY I WANT NOTHING    All children want something that their parents can’t provide        (for example different parents)She continued:    ALL THREE HAVE THEIR OWN ROOMS    ALL THREE HAVE THEIR OWN TELEVISIONS    ALL THREE HAVE THEIR OWN DVD PLAYERS    ALL THREE HAVE THEIR OWN CELL PHONESAnd:    ALL THREE HAVE THEIR OWN DADSSpoiled lucky bastardsI had to share my father with my three siblingsJ.
Pharoah Doss was born in Pittsburgh in 1975. He attended Geneva
College. His writing has appeared in The New Pittsburgh Courier, The
Shepherd, and Commonline/The E Journal.

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