Behind the Outhouse

He could have been kicking dust
over a million babies, but the whiteness
of the blobs in the dirt were validation
of his transient childhood.

Jism turns yellow when you are about
18, then it is dangerous to girls. Once
you get old, like around 40, it turns green
and is safe again.

Leroy learned this from his uncle,
who learned it during the war and hauled
it home with his rucksack of mysteries,
chopsticks and a monkey skull.

When he shared this it was a warm fall day
with metamorphic clouds, hickory trees blazing
on the horizon and the grass calmly basking
before turning in for a long rest.