Thursday, September 4, 1976 if Chalk Were Black

Twenty years before I write this, My father could get a call,

an offer to lecture in San Antonio on trends in magazine design.

He might have lunch at a Mexican restaurant,

next to the market, where I will buy my initials carved into a ring.

He might, after lunch, buy a cereal-or-ice-cream bowl,

carefully tucking it, wrapped in newspaper, under his arm on the way to Trinity

Choosing to smoke a cigarette and walk to the university,

he could leave his car in the huge parking garage next to the market

Stopping to put out his cigarette and throw it in a dumpster,

he might be staring at trash instead of making love.

jay blazek crossley

To Reach the Questions, Comments, and Complaints Department: jcrossley@mail.utexas.edu