The boys talk in slang, or some kind of shorthand words thrown into a heap they dive into to pick them out: half phrases, left out subjects, verbs with original conjugations. Word and For real? punctuate and accentuate the teenage tall tales they tell each other on the A train after school today I listen and ignore the words. I focus on the pause, the joy, the smile in the sound of the girl’s name: Jesse, he said, twice in one breath. For real? Word. I think his name is Rashon and he’s in love.
Leslie Dianne is a poet, novelist, screenwriter, playwright and performer whose work has been acclaimed internationally in places such as the Harrogate Fringe Festival in Great Britain, The International Arts Festival in Tuscany, Italy and at La Mama in New York City. Her stage plays have been produced in NYC at The American Theater of Actors, The Raw Space, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and The Lamb’s Theater. She holds a BA in French Literature from CUNY. Her poems have appeared in Noctivant Press, The Wild Word, Trouvaille Review, Moida, Sparks of Calliope and The Elevation Review, and are forthcoming in Whimsical Poet and Boston Accent Lit. Her poetry was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.