by John Van Pelt.
if I were from beheadings
if I were from Mor Monsen kake
if I were from tramp steamers
if I were from approximately
if I were from a Hollywood movie in a Panama playhouse
if I were from a charming change-of-address card
if I were from saying yes
if I were from black volcanic sand
if I were from only a warning
if I were from See Dick Run
if I were from a Ginza mama-san
squeezing her girl’s breasts through
her gray cable knit pullover whilst
beaming at me and my grandfather
if I were from keepsake Zulu spears
if I were from Mary Baker Eddy
if I were from nickel bags
if I were from blue morphos
if I were from a row of thatched-roofed cottages
if I were from apologies
erased in a flood
if I were from mornings after
if I were from pink lady slippers filling a lost grove
if I were from the other escalator
what the hell did you expect