I’m purt near
bout to splode
I’m a bear
with a sore head

ornery as hell
ready to yell
or else to leave
the holler

deprived
of my druthers
my once-brothers

now a use-ta
I don’t miss

call me blue
and too big
for my britches

but I do hew red
around the nape

and see that hue
with folks who think
their shit don’t stink

or folks who
know it does
yet still will shove it
near my nose