leaf line

me, myself & lie – foto by smith

this excerpt from CRIMINAL has been rather well received. the two poetry venues i’ve read it in so far have laughed a lot – it’s from the Puberty chapter:

The doctor pulled my foreskin back over my penis head when I was nine. It hurt like heck since the foreskin had never been stretched before. Doc explained I had to wash under the foreskin every bath, or head cheese would develop. So I did. I washed it. A lot.

One night while reading and fondling my penis, I had my first climax. I didn’t understand what happened. No one told me about sex. All I knew was it was wrong to touch myself. I figured I’d broken something essential. Thinking it was God’s punishment, I wiped away the clear sticky goo, lay down in the dark, and waited to die.

Next morning, still alive, I touched it some more. Made it break again. I broke it over and over.

Few years later, doctor said, “Your left testicle has dropped considerably lower than your right. That’s usually caused by playing with yourself too often.”

I burned in shame, but kept on breaking my penis two or three times a day anyway. I must have had the most broke dick in town.

here n there – foto by smith

love bait – foto by smith

pre-prince – foto by smith

love shack out back garden – foto by smith

americana – foto by smith

heron – foto by smith

leaf line – foto by smith