Tuesday Poems
-
Does the lamb know She was raised In a lion’s den? Do the lions knowThey infected her bones, When they gnawed On her like a passing snack? Was her mother A sheep or A subservientLioness? Do the lions know, She was never a sheep, But a tiger, That took a while, To find her stripes and fangs? Their lamb escapedin the sinking dusk. Uncertain if she…
-
7th grade, standing in her carpeted bathroom. Told her I didn’t think college was for me. A tight lipped lasered eyed mother,Took me by the shoulders. With severity not often heard by her sweet mouth,She said to me: “There’s nothing in this world for a woman Without an education.” I didn’t yet understand women had…
-
Do you remember the first time you felt safe?Do you remember the way it tasted? Swallowing the soft thump Of a heart finally, at rest. Do you remember the first time you were afraid?Did you shake and hyperventilate? Chattering hairs screamDown the back of a petrified spine. Do you think you deserved these things? Were…
-
In her attic, hot with sweat I look up at her desk. The prettiest gel pens rolling around. Stamps Falling out of drawers Ink packs stacked too highFlowers pressed on paper Shimmering in the small lamp light A smile lit up her face whenever we were hereI never understood How they said she was cruel…
-
Peering over the mountain ledge. A crisp silence sat on snowy banks. When the engines turned off and the helmets came undone,that’s where his truest smile was found. No happier could he have been than when he’d reached the highest human peaks. When I lay him down to rest, I will cling to the image…
-
Wet brushThick paper Green countersDryer tumblingShe’s looking out the Mudroom window My wide eyes are memorized Her wet brush gliding along the special paper.a Lily I swore was aliveBut somehow barely thereHer hand so steady Unlike mine Art jumping off the page Radiating life Every table set,Out of a magazine,Understood how to make the colors…
-
Dad, I don’t want to look at you today. I don’t want to think about the hoots and hollers of pure joy when we sat atop those snowy mountains. When all the stress crinkles in your forehead melted away. No, I don’t want to think about those days. They make me wonder too much about…
-
Running away when they Never invited me to stay. White walls with hollow smileshanging so polite. I’ll never forget the dread in her eyes. From pretending this is all she ever dreamed of being. As though New York City never crossed her mind. As if she didn’t know she was always smarter than him. I…
-
Did they know I was drowning?He told me we weren’t actually related His words are leeches inside my brainSucking the belonging out of my head They were sharksI was a birdNot really their sisterJust barley their daughterHanging by thread Laced round my neck Trying to show themI could swim
-
He told me we weren’t actually related His words are leeches inside my headSucking the belonging out of my head They were sharksI was a birdNot really his sisterJust barely their daughterHanging by thread Laced round my neck Trying to show themI could swim
Healing Birds Fly Again 