Tenderloin
She slept in full sun
wrapped in a winter coat
on the sidewalk
beneath the window
of the mattress store
Her dreams shaped by the clean
white bed
three feet above her head
the taunt of a red and yellow sale sign
on the unwelcoming door
transformed in dreamscape
to the letters of her name
on a room of her own
there through the large picture
window she looked out on the city
curtain-less and exposed
proud of her endurance
she never looked down
~~~~~
Truelove
Jimmy rode the train to New York
Hudson on the right, towns on the left
he was damned cute
dark hair blue eyes and young
like us, but with an edge
of evil
in those eyes some turn
of knife
some gunshot
something
we knew nothing about
we made him show us his ID
didn’t believe his name, “Truelove”
but there it was
in all its official looking glory
he got swallowed up by Grand Central
and we shuddered
all the way back
to Albany
Mimi Whittaker work appears in California Quarterly, Fish Magazine (Ireland), Blue Mountain Review, Stoneboat Journal, Peregrine Journal, Ring of Light, and various publications. She has authored 5 books of poetry and short fiction, one novel and 2 non-fiction books. Her work is informed by the people in her life. She lives in Northern California.