Here At Home
When my grandmother died, my mother reported that her last words were: “Is that all?” Although I was not present at her death, I doubted this.
When my grandmother died, my mother reported that her last words were: “Is that all?” Although I was not present at her death, I doubted this.
apprehension caused by awareness that a crucial detail has been left out | fear of putting into words things felt intuitively | fear that …
It was an accident, he didn’t mean to, I forced him, I provoked, I should have kept my distance, should have shut up when told…
The pale-blue sky stretches to the horizon, broken up here and there by tendrils of white scudding along like wispy phantoms.
My daughter, now eighteen, is vibrant and healthy. Julia Rose has wild curly blonde hair that frames her face like a lion’s mane.
Each day he packs. Takes pictures off the walls, adds the dish that held his morning toast. The crumbs too. One slipper goes into his bag. One stays under the bed.
“It’s him – I’m sure of it.”
“Lizzie, I think your imagination is working overtime. It’s not him.”
I walk into my parents’ home to pick my mom up for a family gathering, and like most days over the past few weeks, palpable sorrow greets me at the door.
a darkening sky
feeds on a bloodied woman
dawn beckons freedom