N  a  p a  l  m     H  e  a  l  t  h     S  p  a  :     R  e  p  o  r  t     2  0  0  8

 

 

DONNA SEWELL

 

 

Kusai

 

Tobacco reeking

Hasn't bathed in days

Scraggly ass guy

Sits down next to me

Puts his face in mine

“What's that smell?”

Waving his hand

back and forth

in front of his fu man chu

Brown crooked finger

Pointing at me

"You stink"

Ignoring the smirk on my face.

“Kusai”

Hand keeps on flapping

“You must not speak Japanese”

Ignoring my,

“You're the one who stinks”

In Japanese.

Ignoring the four or five others

Ignoring us

One hand fiddling with his zipper

The other still flapping about

“Your pussy stinks”

And then he gets up

and walks away.

Sits down next

to some salary man.

Mumbling.

A stop later

Waltzes by one last time

“Kusai”

My stop,

I get off the train

His stench

Clinging to me

 

 

 

It's Complicated

 

You told me

that when we make love

I don't open my legs

as wide as some of

the other girls

that you've known

that it seems

like

I don't want

it

like it hurts

me

like

I'm afraid-

Like there's no

pleasure

in it

for me–

Like I'm not

there.

Well,

I do

want it.

But

it's

complicated.

 

 

5/19/2008

 

 

 

Your Recent Visit

 

It was not without pleasure

that I noted the position

of your hand

around my neck

the other night

during a particularly

successful bout

of lovemaking

It wasn't as if

you were

aware

of the grip

it was not

intentional

more as if

you had gently

lain your fingers there

and then grabbed hold

for dear life

in the

throes,

mid thrust

I didn't mention

it to you

in the same way

that I don't mention that

it'd be nice

for you to hold me

down sometimes

hands pressed

above my head

That that

is what

might really

take me there

I don't know

how to tell

you

that I'm scared

I might need

you

to hurt me

And I don't want you

to hurt me

I just want you

to love me.

 

 

5/19/2008

 

 

 

Typhoon Coming

 

I want

to curl up

in a ball

under the rain

pounding down

beating me

hard

at first

then gently

falling

rain

caressing me

like a mother

calling me back

through

the bad me

calling me back

past

the good me

till we get

right

down

to the nothing

me

the empty

me

purity

water cleansing

gentle puddle

release

 

 

5/19/2008