1950’s

Bleached baby furniture

Squared straight angles

Never out of date

Goal to stain the wood

Fresh start move

From Long Island to Los Angeles

Untangle bully roots

Fine grade steel wool pad

Scrubbing against the white wash

Sanding the finish

Particles fly

Ache away father’s death

After my thirteen

And his thirty-nine

Magic to absorb color

Applying the dark potion

Atoms refuse to dye

No penetration

Settle for varnish

No visible grains

As I repeat the process

Frustrated no alchemy

Can’t disguise

Failed coverup

Own up to childhood grilling

Stop rehashing

Hashtag

Love my painful youth