JD Debris
Tomi, She-Wolf of the GOP
The stereo’s on, she’s sprawled across the mattress
Same two lines of the Anthem stuck on repeat
Rockets red bombs burst
& me down on one knee
Kaepernick-style, between her thighs
In an act of anything but protest
The taser-shock of your pleasure, Tomi
The free speech of your sighs
Let me caress the contours
Of your concealed carry permit
Let me kiss the wetness
Of your American birth certificate
Until my lips are black with ink
The curled toe of your combat boots, Tomi
The crack of your whip
Between petite snakebites
She pulls my curls straight
She drains the almond from my eyes
With the edge of her nail
Your pearl necklace, Tomi
Your flirty little policeman’s hat
Light glows out from her ice-Anglo curtains of hair
They never part, even as she shivers & jolts
Too dark to tell
If that’s a Hello Kitty or an iron cross
Inked above her hip
Your black opera gloves, Tomi
Your innocent hands
Rockets red bombs burst
The sound cuts out: My cue to go
A short walk back to my neighborhood
That still smolders like Watts, post-riot
Whose smoke always dissipates before reaching her window
Your luxury apartment, Tomi
Your hunter’s heart
JD Debris is the author of the chapbook Sparring (Salem State University Press, 2018) and the album Black Market Organs (Simple Truth Records, 2016). Recent work can be found in Apogee and Crab Orchard Review. He is currently a Goldwater Fellow in the MFA program at New York University. His sophomore album, JD Debris Murder Club, will be released in fall 2019. jddebris.bandcamp.com.
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