Oh Mary we will probably not live
To see the next century’s nineties.
Our century’s nineties were grand.
They were ok. They were before
The End Times and Now
I’m in a fit about not ever getting to find out if our nineties were better
And now now
I have this crown imperial to put in your hair and then to put in my hair and
then to trade several times so
We can both see how being with a beautiful thing looks
Impromptu magic
Like the magician I was seeing before
Slavery got all popular again. He would find a currency
From the vicinity of my ear and I
Would tell him to let it collect a little
Interest. Beautiful rascal, beautiful
Marquis, beautiful got your nose, beautiful time and hat and we were
In the company collecting a garnishment, in the company now
Tulips are again collecting interest.
Cody Carvel grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. He has degrees in English and African-American Studies from Harvard and an MFA from USF.