the gravity of falling objects
By Ed Tato

and a man might snap
hopping,
hopping with his hands on his rifle,
or he might sit
eating sunflowers and smoking a hookah,
or he might study the Koran,
listening for the muezzin.

and a man might see a man hopping
and put him in a music video,
or he might get a nose job
and change the color of his skin,
or he might dance atop a vehicle parked outside a courtroom.

and I might say the word
hezbullah
or jihad
or mujahadeen
or michael jackson,
or I might put them in a poem,
or I might pack up and head north,
to stand in the snow below the northern lights.

— Ed Tato is a Lawrence poet. Poet’s Showcase features work by area poets. Submit your poetry via e-mail with a subject line of Poet’s Showcase to mpaget@ljworld.com or send typewritten (not handwritten) submissions to Mindie Paget, 645 N.H., Lawrence 66044, attn: Poet’s Showcase. Teen writers should submit their work to the 18 & Under page at teens@ljworld.com.