Bass thuds in the car to my right,
extirpates the tunes from my radio
and vibrates the window. A teenager
ups the jam by Snoop Dog, I just want you
to know you�re my favorite girl.
I smile. He adjusts his Player�s cap coolly.
For all I know, he�s a thug with a gun
ubiquitously placed in my paranoid world�
lately, even the sun is a hand on my shoulder.


� 2004 by Jenni Russell