free ribs, she told me
before she could mention
suicide prevention
maybe it was the way I stood
under the shade of a parking lot tree
staring off in the distance
actually looking at the garage doors
across the street where my car
was raised, worked on
I held the three tickets
while she spoke of testimony
and, again, free ribs
thank you, yes, thank you
and god, I’m sorry, I threw
them all away
