RETIKLE

 

like a fowl, my dentist grips my mouth
  open far & wide; invites residents to see
the expanse: teeth like floe like soot-topped
  mountain caps, molars like chimney tops, my gums
bleed every time i laugh. the day before my father
  grew wings, the sky seemed twice as small.
the sound of a bullet missing its target,
  the sudden gasp. crowd forms the size of a giant
whale, expectation akin to the ark. kite tied to a spectator's
  wrist; i wanna be like the man in the sky, he says. we all do.
high tides & low times make good men, says my recruiter.
  then he puts a rifle in my arms & disappears.
i curse him every day. every place outside of the green
  of this park is somewhere i’ve seen before. today marks
the carnival. i am the caramel apple vendor.
people queue to talk to me. first time in my life.