13th Ave, 1991

wanted to smoke crack

but today

the day that blood shot my brother in the head
bullet burning through his brown delicate flesh
spurts of red splashing onto the black tar of 13th Ave
my little hermano a pierced hummingbird cut off from motion
and muh racing down white cracked steps to see her youngest son halted

muh saying
they shot my baby . . . they shot my baby . . . oh jesus . . . jesus . . . they’ve shot my baby

and i say
i ain’t never wanted to smoke crack

but today

a lip gushing spray of smoke up into my cranium
might just ease the jitters rushing through my ivory bones