My dick sometimes gets me in trouble.
My hands also get me in trouble.

My brain stops functioning during sex,
which usually lands in me in trouble.

My mouth says “come over tonight.”
In the past this would always be trouble.

Her red Saturn pulls into the parking lot.
She gets out, and I know I’m in trouble.

She wears only a trench coat and heels.
Drop the coat, and I know I’m in trouble.

We go to the bedroom and strip,
both naked to start some trouble.

She says to tie a leather belt around her neck
and grab a condom to prevent future trouble.

Open my eyes to realize I’ve been dreaming.
Never responded to her text, so now I’m in trouble.

—

© 2016 Mack Curry IV

Mack Curry IV is a graduating poet in the Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.  He is a native of Bowie, Maryland, and he currently resides in Hampton, Virginia.

I threw my two-year-old brother when I was nine,
to the brown couch ten feet away.
He didn’t make it to the couch, but he was fine.

Picked him up and said, “Shhh, stop crying. You’ll be okay.”
As his gap-toothed laughter turned into crocodile tears,
I thought about the punishment I would receive that day.

We practiced wrestling moves on the basement mattress for years;
Choke slams and power bombs resulted in broken lamps and desks.
Blood and visible bruises were two of our biggest fears.

Bowties and uniforms now fill our closets as we reflect,
on moments when we would punch each other in the chest.

—

© 2016 Mack Curry IV

Mack Curry IV is a graduating poet in the Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.  He is a native of Bowie, Maryland, and he currently resides in Hampton, Virginia.

White Lady, why won’t you sit next to me?
My dreadlocks don’t bite, I promise.
They’re not tarantulas out to steal
your purse, so stop clutching it.
Does my appearance scare you?
Maybe it’s the open book
of poetry in my lap, or the Hampton
University alumni shirt I have on.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m
actually reading the book.
Does my direct eye contact
intimidate you when you see
the open space next to me
is the last seat left on the bus?
I’m just an Educated Black Man.
Why do you fear me so much?

—

© 2016 Mack Curry IV

Mack Curry IV is a graduating poet in the Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.  He is a native of Bowie, Maryland, and he currently resides in Hampton, Virginia.