Mi'jo and I were laughing
ha,ha,ha--
when the gum he chewed
fell out of his mouth
and into my hair
which, after I clipped it,
flew into the air,
on the back
of a dragonfly
that dipped in the creek
and was snapped
fast by a turtle
that reached high
and swam deep.
Mi'jo wondered
what happened to that gum
worried that it stuck
to the back of my seat
and Mami will be mad
when she can't get it out.
Meanwhile, the turtle in the pond
that ate the dragonfly
that carried the hair
with the gum
swam South on Saturday
and hasn't been seen
once since.
Ana Castillo
From I ASK THE IMPOSSIBLE: POEMS. Copyright © 2001 by Ana Castillo. Published by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
