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Sport 43: 2015

Johanna Emeney — This Vehicle Kneels on Request

page 185

Johanna Emeney

This Vehicle Kneels on Request

Even though you may not ride today,

Man smiling the words,
driving that diamond
of a sign held at chest-height
Jesus Loves You
standing outside
your white, wooden church;

Boys taking turns shaking
supersize cups, two quilt coats
laid over you top and bottom,
missing the empty middle part, the heart
of the city’s nowhere to go;

Girl who stows grief in pockets
with blue fists, eats only shallow air,
you make yourself an effigy to loss,
your marbled knees are statuary,
cannot bend in their anorexic tributary.

Woman on a bike with the child
in a yellow trailer, your boy
has wide-set eyes and a lolling tongue.
His smile is polished Red Delicious apples,
and everyone who sees him waves.
It may be dangerous, but traffic slows;

this vehicle kneels.