TUBABABY
Sleeping with the tuba
her one small predilection
its old brassy hump and battered valves
coil upon coil of intestinal tubing
for that low sound
her call to arms
how she loved its wide open bell
as it spouted oompah like an elephant
with bilge on the banks of the Nile.
Of course they all laughed
at her deep breathy note
at the spit gargling in pipes
at her marching with the Sallies
in black lace-up shoes
she still tastes the tarnish
obsessed with her embouchure.
She sleeps with tubababy in the fust
of the dark bunk bed
and on cold nights covers its bell
with soft cotton
cradle loving horn
