Dispar

Dispar, disparis, adj: disparate


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Of all the senses, smell holds the most memories.
Sitting next to a mother and her son,
my nose remembers many kitchens,
grease cooling in the frying pan
and kerosene warming the air.
I ask probing questions about their lives,
to evaluate the depth of the problems
and the fit with our meager services.
Suggestions based on the words themselves
and the intangibles, learned in a score plus five,
sitting next to a mother and her son.

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My kindness and generosity, sapped,
by boys and girls, who lost their minds,
Friday afternoon, the last period of the day.
I warned them:
their ears did not hear,
their eyes did not see.
Monday, there will be hell to pay.

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The poetry rises
to the back of my throat.
I can taste the words,
as they tease their way
to the end of my tongue.
Pen scratches on paper
until they rest on the page.