CUFFED AT THE CURB

CUFFED AT THE CURB

By Charlois Lumpkin

careful
kick’n it down Canfield Drive
listen up
this ain’t no jive

don’t
talk smart
                                                but don’t be too dumb

don’t
look angry
                                                or hav’n too much fun

don’t
hang with too many
                                                but don’t walk alone

don’t
walk too slow
                                                n’ for God’s sake don’t run

Cuffed at the Curb” first appeared under the pen name Mali Newman in the anthology Crossing The Divide, from the poets of St. Louis published by Vagabond Books in 2016.