LANGSTON HUGHES TRIBUTE ISSUE Kathleen S. Rogers   BUYING ALL THE LITTLE BOYS OF COLOR I am buying all the little boys of color, lawn captives, culture pets forever lifting carriage lanterns. They stream with rain, clot with mower waste, yellow with dog urine. I keep cash ready in the car and bargain like a collector of memorabilia. Some days I win, pry the boy from the ground while the owner watches, wondering if he should have waited for more money. I carry the iron boy in my two arms, quickly tuck him in the seat and drive away. At home, I prepare for burial. Warm soapy water soaks away stains and stripes, livery glows with polish; I gently rub stiff arms and kiss each cheek. One hymn whispered as he’s swaddled and laid in an apple crate. The holes go deep in rich soil of the old potato patch, picked clean of rocks that mar a smooth potato’s skin. Still, the digging isn’t easy, nor should it be after such a harsh compacting winter.   Kathleen S. Rogers has published poems in Blueline, Relief, Anthology of Appalachian Writers, and The Ghazal Page. She writes from Raven Ridge, WV.   Published in Volume 12, Number 1, Winter 2011.