And I shall let my hair go gray. Not
that it’s white like the shiny pearl of baby teeth,

nor gleaming like the stainless appliances I polish
in the kitchen. I shall let my hair go gray—

I once accompanied a woman
I loved and lived with
to her college sorority reunion.
It was a cold evening.
I wore my favorite coat

Tis smotherin’ under these stones
but me conscience suffocates me worse.

Travelin’ nights with the weight still on me chest.
I should have kept me mouth shut, Martha,