“Geronimo” by Cheryl Spinner

Now listen here, Geronimo,
Get that sister of yours out of her room
But, please, whatever you do
Don’t buy her an Ice cream cone.

Pull her by the hair.
Sprinkle her with water,
Pry her up with pinchers if you must,
But, please, don’t buy her an ice cream cone.

Pick her up, I say.
Pick her up.
Geronimo, lay her corpse of a body out and up,
But do remind her she is alive.
Make her walk,
Make her talk,
Push her forward,
Push her back,
Make her shimmy,
Make her shine,
Make her simper,
Make her love,
But whatever you do, please, please, don’t buy her that ice cream cone.


Cheryl Spinner currently lives in Durham, N.C., where she is a doctoral student in the English Department at Duke University. She received her Master's Degree in English at Georgetown University in the spring of 2010. A native of Queens, N.Y., her writing intertwines yiddishe kopf with a certain kind of New Yawk flair. You can follow her research blog at electricladieszap.wordpress.com.