Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Covering The White

I am no hero in this play
pulling weeds and branches from the dirt
covering ivy with newspaper
and mulch.
My Latino helper, Douglas,
reads the papers I lay down.
He says they have a lot of sex ads.
He asks me where I got them.
I nod and smile
and pretend I don’t notice him
staring at my legs and rear.
Even the dog has gone inside now.
It’s too hot for him.
We stand there in the yard,
him wheeling out the black
covering up the years.
Me, tugging on my shorts
trying to cover
the white.