Venus's-Flytraps

I am five,      Wading out into deep           Sunny grass, Unmindful of snakes      & yellowjackets, out           To the yellow flowers Quivering in sluggish heat.      Don't mess with me           'Cause I have my Lone Ranger Six-shooter. I can hurt      You with questions           Like silver bullets. The tall flowers in my dreams are      Big as the First State Bank,           & they eat all the people Except the ones I love.      They have women's names,           With mouths like where Babies come from. I a five.      I'll dance for you           If you close your eyes. No Peeping through your fingers.      I don't supposed to be           This close to the tracks. One afternoon I saw      What a train did to a cow.           Sometimes I stand so close I can see the eyes      Of men hiding in boxcars.           Sometimes they wave & holler for me to get back. I laugh      When trains make the dogs           Howl. Their ears hurt. I also know bees      Can't live without flowers.           I wonder why Daddy Calls Mama honey.      All the bees in the world           Live in little white houses Except the ones in these flowers.      All sticky & sweet inside.           I wonder what death tastes like. Sometimes I toss the butterflies      Back into the air.           I wish I knew why The music in my head      Makes me scared.           But I know things I don't supposed to know.      I could start walking           & never stop. These yellow flowers      Go on forever.           Almost to Detroit. Almost to the sea.      My mama says I'm a mistake.           That I made her a bad girl. My playhouse is underneath      Our house, & I hear people           Telling each other secrets.