canary in a coal mine

made shrimp pasta tonite burnt
the butter and lili's fingers
and her mother
did not place one word of blame
not one spiteful bitch
even as her daughter screamed
in that surprised at such pain in the world yelp
half intake half howl a burn conjures.
not fair! not fair! the flesh
protests and raises mounds of sacrifice
in cells as white as ghosts

  child and mom battle over ice water
in a bowl in the bed, i convince   mom
to let the poet calm her child.
it's the least i could do.oh baby you burnt
your finger, it hurts doesnt it? yes, wanna bowl
in the bed. need it. neeeeed it. yeh, what did you learn
from the burn? don't touch the pots on the stove.
that's the lesson. ok? it's bedtime
moma is not gonna let you have the ice
no matter how much you scream.
it's not gonna happen.but she gave you
a popsicle.. rub her back, sing can't always
get what you want.
the rolling stones totally help. she remembers
that song, the day crazy, homeless abbey, she and i
got in the car to get tacos and fries
driving down the road, singing
at the top of our lungs
 but if you try sometimes
you get what you need.
oh baby.

 i retreve  raggedy andy
of the torn shirt
and broken foot from the mayhem
of the floor.  he has a burn too.
he wants to hold the popsicle, let's find it..
can you tell raggedy how you got your burn?
don't touch the pot,raggedy, don't touch it.

 sometimes popsicles
sometimes poetry