Hit
by Melissa Range

Read the automated transcript.

Hit was give to me,
the old people’s way of talking,
and hit’s a hit

sometimes. Sometimes hit
is plumb forgot
and I drop the “h”

that starts hillbilly,
hellfire, hateful,
hope. Sometimes hit

hits the back of my teeth
and fights hits way out
for hit’s been around

and hit’s tough:
hit’s Old English,
hit’s Middle, hit’s country,

hit will hit on you
all day long
if you’ll let hit.

When I hit the books
they tried to hit
hit out of me

but hit’s been hit
below the belt
and above and hit

still ain’t hit
the sack. Sometimes
you can hit hit

like a nail on the head,
and sometimes hit
hits back.

"Hit" by Melissa Range from SCRIPTORIUM by Melissa Range, copyright © 2016 Beacon Press. Used by permission of Beacon Press.