Elevenplex
[ James Croal Jackson ]

where is the cheering coming from–
sports, a drinking game, someone
eating a copious amount of meat
(or is that an American pastime)? it is not 
from my head for once. motorcycles 
zoom past, women scream, a grandma’s
dog barks from her garden balcony.
decorative sardines hang from a basket. 
you drink vino rosso, me bianco. we eat 
potatoes in the sweat-drenched air 
of this vine-covered space we rent
in life's transition. I hope we will
stabilize. accordion pumps
in and out, stereos loud through
Palermo and you I hope will stay 
through our fantasy of buying 
an elevenplex here to house ourselves, 
our friends, our moms and cats. 
oh, what a splendid life we'd live–
I'd be cheering for us, too.