“seventeen”
– Luke Robbins

June 14, 2022
seventeen is tired and true
you know i see the exhaust and fume,
that america’s eighty percent highway
on which every sign is from God
you’re twenty zested limes in a room
twenty adults straight from the womb
They put a roof over your head
painting everything white
teaching termites to have at the house
exterminating them at the first bite
now i can’t cry without command
my body is betraying my better head
i can’t look at my hand
and see what i saw in my head
where the Men are stationed and manned,
quartered in my head,
laying in my bed while making a stand
They taught me to fight but
my battle with tears
wasn’t one i wanted to win