Mañana – M.B Ghul

October 25, 2025

Louie Mañana feels rotten about consuming his twin at the womb
A kid at school told him that people who do that have
uneven shoulders.
So he shimmies,
when nobody’s looking;
moves his shoulders up and down like
Michael Jackson in the “Thriller” video
Which he is still scared of but he’ll never
tell.

He gave his twin a name: Joe
Joe Mañana.
Joe Mañana would have been better at sports.
He would have many girlfriends and maybe
one of them would mistake Joe for Louie and
then realize her mistake and then
not really care, because maybe,
maybe Louie isn’t so bad.
Louie Mañana takes the bus home.
His father tries to love him, but one
divorce and one loveless marriage
takes the wind out of you.
He parents from the sidelines.
Foul!

Louie Mañana thinks about the kid who told him about dead children,
about where they are.
He asked “Where?”
“A playground, maybe.”
He’s at a play-pit.
The balls smell like french fries and
plastic cheese.
He plays catch with ghosts.
Maybe, maybe Joe Mañana would have had a
killer throw.
Rubbery pillar, with an extraterrestrial face
bounces the ball back
“Will you be my brother?” Louie asks.
The alien pillar grins.
Green ball.
Blue ball.
Red ball.
Yellow ball.