Matthews, Kelly

English

eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

Yalobusha Review Volume 10 Article 16 1-1-2005 Weekday Morning: Brooklyn; The Devil’s Waters Kelly Matthews Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/yr Recommended Citation Matthews, Kelly (2005) "Weekday Morning: Brooklyn; The Devil’s Waters," Yalobusha Review: Vol. 10 , Article 16. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/yr/vol10/iss1/16 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the English at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Yalobusha Review by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu. Yalobusha ReviewKelly MatthewsWeekday Morning: BrooklynBalloons flap a wild greeting from the shop’s open doors, their rubber skins stretched tautthen choked. The morning commute is serious as a street-long equation;the grownups crunch behind their wheels, disciples of diligence and discretion,driven by the idea that fun is a return on an investment. The kids smile pureas primary colors from their carseats, knowing how good it feels to be shook silly.The teenagers hold their mouths still, lips tucked in tight. They have learnedthe importance of straight lines, of looking forward.109 ■1Matthews: Weekday Morning: Brooklyn; The Devil’s WatersPublished by eGrove, 2002Yalobusha ReviewKelly MatthewsThe Devil’s WatersIt’s my job to keep watch on him.Mama says it gets harder as the year goes on,  that he spreads out in warm air like pralines  on waxed paper. My fourteenth birthday she staked my neck with a gold rope.There’s a red charm at the center in the shape of a heart;  it hangs at my throat, swells when I swallow.Mama says the heart is what he’ll come for.  Her voice is sure as a razor blade snaked across a man’s face.In the summer it rains until everything is filled up with everything else. Things you thought were buried  show up on the neighbor’s porch, flowers sneak into one another’s beds, Mama uses an offs oreman like a human tarp.This is when I lose track of him.I stand stiff as a cypress, pretend the water  beneath my skin is as still as it appears.► 1102Yalobusha Review, Vol. 10 [2002], Art. 16https://egrove.olemiss.edu/yr/vol10/iss1/16

Weekday Morning: Brooklyn; The Devil’s Waters

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1624&context=yr

Weekday Morning: Brooklyn; The Devil’s Waters

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eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)