Crooked Family mother’s familial shapeistriangular she apexesthendaughter & other daughter a trifectathreesomethree musketeers west-end girls except daughterdeviates& angles shift tectonic loveindisruption mother’sscarcrooked over her collarbone daughterleaves& sides collapse families end, girls
POEM A DAY – July 18
Closet The doorless shared bedroom at the evil step-dad’s house had a long, wide closet. I went into it like it was my private apartment. A carpeted, one-room sanctuary, clothes-roofed, shoes pushed aside like bricks. I hauled in chapter books, markers, crayons, stickers, Hilroys in soft hued-yellows, blues. The pillow, heart-cased, from my top-bunk bed,… Continue reading POEM A DAY – July 18
POEM A DAY – July 17
The Under I remember crawling under the dining room tableafter Sunday lunch. Sitting cross-legged in a forestof feet. Jagged bones. Painted nails. Subtle scentsvinegar and cheese. The ends of bodies stacked orrubbing carpet or yanked back when I touched…I liked the solitary space. The singularity of my smallthoughts wrapping the under like a sock. Not… Continue reading POEM A DAY – July 17
VANESSA SHIELDS 