Sally the Salamander*

 congratulations i said to you
on the day i saw you last
when we got our diplomas
our parents' proud faces shone
shiny diamonds in the crowd
bamboozled
our wine glasses clicked
empty promises were made
and we toasted to our futures
while eating salmon steaks on Ohio.

those were the days of old when
talk turned out to be expensive but
visions sold on street corners for cheap
we were looking for water then i think
the first time i saw you we were
discussing the situation of that homeless girl
who gave me her furniture as a gift
some kind of healer she turned out be
that Sally the Salamander.

then
you went and stole the sadness from inside
the heart of that indian girl you met
on the bus when you left for Texas
you begged with your sympathy and she spilled her secrets
too naive to understand your mathematical ingenuity
she screamed rape ruined your reputation as a shrink
did you ever get caught for that or did she retract?
maybe that job you took in Houston will make you think

since then
a cold look taints your baby blue eyes
turned red from the ambivilent atonements
you make when you prostrate as a result
of the charges she slappeed against you
woke up to find you doing geometry on her back
searching for a sign on her body like
some kind of oracle looking for something special
she screamed when she saw your calculations could be correct
nowadays you shall be waiting
while Sally finishes with her drag queen lover
then you can have your turn to fly
with Sally the Salamander.

for now you
hide from Sally the Salamder
when you fall
you make a spatter of yourself
on the concrete street.

*Salamander is in reference to Octavio Paz's poem entitled Salamander