my brother ate spaghetti
right out of the can,
shoveled cold noodles
& fat-laced meatballs
into his maw, red
sauce flinging down
the aisles, the grocer
stomping & yelling &
my mother shrugging
as if to say what do
you expect when you
stock can openers
within reach of a ten
year old with a hankering
that must be obeyed
more than a mother
working the late shift
after her no good
husband ran off
with that bitch jolene?