Shane Allison
Blackberries
When my sister and I were kids, back when we were inseparable,
There was a black berry field next to our house.
We would grab cereal bowls from the kitchen,
And fill them with berries. We would even pick the red ones
That were bitter to the taste.
Some were so plump; the juice would come off on our fingers.
More berries made it into our mouths
Than the bowls until our tongues turned purple.
We had to be careful being that they were protected
By soldiers of sharp thorns that would often prick my fingers,
But I didn’t care.
I miss those black berry fields,
But most of all, I miss picking them with my sister.
Bully
The last time I saw my cousin, Darrin
Was at the burial of my Aunt Lurine.
It wasn't a sad funeral.
I didn't cry when they lowered her into Southside Earth.
Instead of wrapping me with a hug, he shook my hand
As if I was simply a friend of the family.
Didn't show me the same kind of love as those
My kin folks give on my father's side.
Maybe it had something to do with my being queer.
If so, I don't want to know.
Growing up he was never much of a cousin.
Maybe because he was older than us and was never around.
Too cool to spend time with a bunch of babies.
He was worse than any bully I ignored in school because he was family.
Teasing and picking until I had no choice but to fall into a fight
Which I always lost because Darrin was the oldest, the strongest.
He knew how tender the skin of a shy boy was.
My mother asked if I remember chasing him with a knife in my grandmother's backyard.
All that anger I would have cut him for sure.
I don't know why my aunt left him the most out of her money.
He never wrote her letters or sent her poems.
I imagine with all the trouble that has plagued our brood,
He will either see me at my funeral,
Or I'll see him at his.
Shane Allison has been cutting, pasting, taping and taping since 2001. When he’s not making art, he’s thinking about making art. His new poetry collection “Turbulent” is out from Hysterical Books, as well his epic poem, “Remembered Men” out from Ranger Press. Shane is at work on a new collection, as well as a cock art series of collages and paintings. He lives in Florida for the meantime until his ship comes in.
Banner Art:
from Water Lilies (Agapanthus), Claude Monet, ca. 1915-26
