Face Fuck Book #51--Joseph

Joseph was his Christian name
Perfectly proportioned
       taller than a Pigmy
       no lack of nutrition  
Congolese- French Equatorial Africa
       2000 years ago populated by Pigmies
       Later mixed with Bantu
Small, yet his presence
       could hardly pass under the door transom
       of my apt in Perugia
Spoke French (once French Equatorial Africa)
Wore an amulet that he said was mou mou
       (that scared me)
Joseph, a big man despite his minute stature
       refused to be called Joe
       well formed
       muscular
       black as coal
       strikingly handsome
In Italy that hot summer
       to study engineering
       wore a perfectly tailored
       khaki army shirt
Grabbed the potato and knife from me
 “You are wasting the potato”
       “Peel only the skin”
I learned more about him in that moment
       then he ever told me
He taught me how to make omelets
       a dash of flour and milk
       pepper and salt
       I still make them the same way
“You have a fridge and no ice?”
“Are you stupid?”
“No”-- he made his point
“You have a car
Take me tonight”
        a clearing outside the city
        pavement turned to grass
        hillside turned flat
In the twilight a few prostitutes
        young men milling around them
He bargained with a large curly haired girl
A white handkerchief in her hair
“I am a student,” he said forcibly
“You must charge me less”
They disappeared into the clearing
He returned with a happy look of relief
His fly unzipped