Stinger

From time to time
after a serious fall
the voodoo people come
and ask for advice.
I know that after I recover
they'll turn out to be
black guys, metal animals,
and lesbians with binoculars
but for now it is nice
to remove my gadgets from the windows
slip outside
and hold forth:

I cannot change
only pretend to change
and hope to dupe others
into changing.

My father once scooped up wasps
in his baseball cap
and set it on his head.
Extreme behavior to be sure
but their venomous little daggers
have been known to fix the moment
and tack down scraps of memory.