Monday night I’m with the dancers. I hope
they will teach me about
grace. Instead
we laugh over three candles
everyone tactless and having
fun. Instead
I go to the corner and pick
my toll. Two boys
ask me about the death
of a parent. To pass
I propose it is a terrible
inevitability. I have
my parents and we
know death. How we act
when it comes is always
a surprise. I go home
to hear the jackhammers
rushing to beat the light.
Published in Discount Guillotine Vol. 2, 2025.
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