yard work is hard work
and sod won’t grow on sand
but i put the pieces where i’m told
it’s my job, after all
lili wants to ride a roller coaster
she asks me to choose one
that won’t flip her upside down
the pier has a few choices
i take her to the one
with the animatronic elephants
wearing business suits
her wallet is packed with money
i could have sworn was fake
only ten minutes ago
i leave her in line and walk
past the lemonade i can’t afford
something is moving me to tears
or maybe i’m just tired
but i nearly walk past the pop starlet
in the excellent white dress
without seeing her
she says honey you look sad
and we talk about dead artists
she feels the same loss;
we have been abandoned
and the penny she keeps idly flipping
seems magical
like it could change my life
but i wouldn’t dream
of asking for it
one of her fans is outside
with a knife
the security guards she calls
are dressed in tight white shirts
and black leather pants
in the chaos i think about leaving
but she says no, stay
we sit on the floor and talk
until she falls asleep
i wander
and coming back i find
the girl with the knife
cutting the pop starlet’s face
nothing serious
she just wants a little blood
to write a message
COME GET YOUR PRESENT
still i am horrified
paralyzed
can’t scream
i pull out my phone
try to take a picture
i can’t get the camera to focus
when the leather-clad guards show up
they ask me why i didn’t call 911
i tell them i wanted proof
that it wasn’t me
i say i panicked
i say i froze
behind them, the medic attends
to the starlet’s wounds
she is stunning in her bloody dress
and as she looks up
to meet my eyes
she finally levitates her penny
mattress dungeon 