Poems

Skip to My Lou

By Ryan Black

Junior hustles near The Showboat
playing Bitch for sneakers.

He’s got a handle, can go left or right,
through you or over you. They call him

Man-Child or Sweet Sweet-Jesus or
Skip-to-My-Lou because he stands upright

and skips down the court daring you
to reach. When his daughter needs milk,

Junior plays for dollars. He’s got eyes
like wet cement. Sticking Junior is like

finding your name in a graveyard.

All rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission of the author.