See how she scuttles across the floor
The cold tile numbs, then burns
Her palms, knees, shins
All portions of flesh pressed on
The harder thing—the hardest thing
Not cursed yet—
—Soon
Then there’s this back
The thing that holds her together
The thing she’s built around
Grew up around
Now crushed under the weight of
Their bad will
Question is: will she get to her feet again?
In agony? In overcoming song?
Maybe it doesn’t matter
As long as she looks up
Photo Credit: Jonathan Kos-Read Flickr via Compfight cc
Anne Leigh Parrish
Award-winning writer Anne Leigh Parrish’s next novel, an open door, will be published in October 2022 by Unsolicited Press. Recent titles from Unsolicited Press are the moon won’t be dared, a poetry collection, October 2021, and a winter night, a novel, released in March 2021. She is the author of seven other books. She has recently ventured into the art of photography and lives in the South Sound Region of Washington State. Find her online at her website, Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Instagram, Linked In, and Goodreads.
