I take my pills with brandy
Because lithium tastes better
With a little sunshine.

Daisies rise from the permafrost
Their shy, bonnet-covered heads
Bowed, pushing up through the snow.

I could shoot myself for fun
Playing the french version
Of russian roulette

The cats startle in the dark
If the shell holds the gunshot
Like thunder in the kitchen.

I would rather admit my sin---
My lap-dance adultery,
As it were, my incredulity

--- Rather confess my true power
Than be a tease for arson,
For their imaginations.

I am originally from texas
A land of culture and bird-shit
Of murals and dark-slick skin.

I was born in July under
A blister-free sun and a
Bilingual sign in the yard.

But I was not arrested for arson,
The keyword in this sentence being
"Arrested."