The Girl Who Hugs Dogs
The girl who hugs dogs
is teased by the boys
across the street.
The twang of their taunts
is like a chorus of demons.
She has no friends here …
except of course for the tree clown,
who, when the full moon rises,
descends from the plum tree
and dances for her in bare feet.
Damian Balassone
Boy at the Bus Stop
The young man found the crowded stop
in flannelette and mustard cap,
the bus would take him to the crop
where he would meet the working chaps.
Just yesterday he finished school,
the day before he felt the cane,
his father labelled him the fool
and said that he deserved the pain.
But school was now a distant star
and Rosa’s face, a teary blur,
and loneliness became his scar
whenever he remembered her.
And still the bus stop crowded more,
the expectation filled the air,
the rumbling sound, the flapping door,
the coldness of the driver’s stare.
The young man stomped his cigarette
and made his way towards the queue,
a widow brushed his flannelette
and scampered for her window view.
And on the bus he saw a seat
beside a slick-haired businessman,
who spread his arms and stretched his feet,
deterred, the youngster chose to stand.
The morning sun was on the rise,
it peeked above the distant hills,
the driver shut his weary eyes,
awaiting for the bus to fill.
And when it filled, the engine roared—
the bus let out a grieving cry;
the young man dreamt of days before,
and here he knew his youth had died.
But school was now a distant star,
and Rosa’s face, a teary blur,
and loneliness became his scar
whenever he remembered her.
Damian Balassone