Gangland

I want to join a gang
that uses flashy dances
and fine-toothed combs
to grease back our
jet-black hair into a careful style.

The initiation would consist
of skill-sets like smoke-signals,
cherry-pit spitting, and
arch nemesis knuckle sandwich-making
to weed out the weak.

Our weapons might frighten
the outsiders away
with our chain-linked jewelry
and loosely interpreted
sling-shot ammo.

The gang colors won’t
match each other, but we’ll
probably use capes or sneakers
or at least some sort of decoder ring
to tell us apart from the rest.

I want to join a gang
that breaks into doo-wop
and still can throw a right hook
when the going gets tough
in order to threaten and entertain.