I am five,
    Wading out into deep

Sunny grass,Unmindful of snakes
   

& yellowjackets, out
To the yellow flowersQuivering in sluggish heat.
   

Don't mess with me
 

'Cause I have my Lone RangerSix-shooter. I can hurt
    You with questions
 

Like silver bullets.The tall flowers in my dreams are
   

Big as the First State Bank,
& they eat all the peopleExcept the ones I love.
   

 They have women's names,
 

With mouths like whereBabies come from. I a five.
    I'll dance for you
 

If you close your eyes. NoPeeping through your fingers.
   

I don't supposed to be
This close to the tracks.One afternoon I saw 
   

What a train did to a cow.
 

Sometimes I stand so closeI can see the eyes
    Of men hiding in boxcars.
 

Sometimes they wave& holler for me to get back. I laugh
   

When trains make the dogs
Howl. Their ears hurt.I also know bees
   

Can't live without flowers.
 

I wonder why DaddyCalls Mama honey.
    All the bees in the world
 

Live in little white housesExcept the ones in these flowers.
   

 All sticky & sweet inside.
I wonder what death tastes like.Sometimes I toss the butterflies
   

Back into the air.
 

I wish I knew whyThe music in my head 
    Makes me scared.
 

But I know thingsI don't supposed to know.
   

 I could start walking
& never stop.These yellow flowers
   

Go on forever.
 

Almost to Detroit.Almost to the sea.
    My mama says I'm a mistake.
 

That I made her a bad girl.My playhouse is underneath
   

 Our house, & I hear people
Telling each other secrets.