Branches Book
BRANCHES
Kiona McCormick
LIGHTENED
Roots
Unearthed by the paralyzing whiff of dryer sheets, Memories flicker to light—stilled on stiff cots,
I stirred, so I had to wait with the man Of the afternoon light—Now it fades
In Montessori I shrunk—crushed under courtesy cards Silence paved way for safety, till they cornered us In the little red house, hushing, don’t ever tell We couldn’t, for by then, we’d been rid of our sound
Tis the recession! Dinners of oranges and ice soup Do surprisingly satisfy, until the dreaded hour of brownness When the walls tingle in response to rage of the fight in the living room And nothing can fill the pit in my stomach, now
Her leg is red—did I really see that? I can no longer distinguish my sight from my nightmare But it must be true, for the sirens are near And they say this is the final warning
Get in the car. We are driving to Carmel. How can a child choose?
In the end it was fear, which shoved us in back And made us cry at the sight of O’Reilly Autoparts
One day spent at CPS scratches the surface of misconceptions When she goes into the room, the walls boom and echo in anger When he goes into the room, the walls fall silent in fear When I go into the room, the walls tremor in pain
Ed
It is a blur, a controlled, silent, blur Brought about by a shadow inhabiting the mind
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