Postcard: Turning Stations
—Cincinnati, Ohio, 1972
Dear Sister,
America.
Late nights, we lie under the spread and listen
to the stereo jazz sounds of WTKO
on the FM station. He says I am so fine
in my tight, pulled-back and strapless
bed-sheet gown. Imagine, the polyester
with sequins. A sultry Dinah Washington.
Turn. He puts a pillow on his stomach,
a finger to his lips and blows —
he can do a Louis like nobody else.
Turn, to the Golden Oldies.
Sometimes, he calls me his favorite Supreme
or his one and only Apollo showgirl.
With the switch of a dial, we move in unison.
In the infinite dark, our flickering stations turn.
Copyright Credit: Sjohnna McCray, "Postcard: turning Stations" from Rapture. Copyright © 2016 by Sjohnna McCray. Reprinted by permission of Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org.
Source: Rapture (Graywolf Press, 2016)