Houma, LA Sophia Ivey Red beans & rice Buttered bread A chickens’ breasts. A white plate An hour difference, Schedules set For central time, Houses on stilts. Thick beads Of sweat Soft gray Hats And dew On my second father’s whiskey glass. Kids with full cheeks Bellowing cackles And dads with permanent sleeves That kiss Their son’s peach-blonde curls, And a papa who chases him
8
