Summers in the south resolve to a dewy decimal
of garlands festooning historic ironwork
is what I might say if born on a monied Monday.
After a flurry of hurricanes my doggie does
cartwheels on pine needles is what I might say if
I’m being honest. Southerners are a droplet of due
on chinoiserie, cracking elaborate pasts on steel cut glass.
A cool pumpkin on plump skin, my canine and I
prefer fresh cut grass to drag our rumpus around,
to run from dark imaginings. This is not an indictment
of my dog or myself or anything the eye can peel.
Weddings in the public squares are circular
and a blushing bride walked down the processional
with fierce dignity to Al Green and I almost pooped
my pants but kept walking renewed, you know.
Originally from New York, Erika Jo Brown currently lives in Savannah, GA, where she co-curates the Seersucker Shots poetry reading series. Her chapbook “What a Lark!” was published by Further Adventures Press in 2011.