the valley in the sun
by Gracie Ringer
would say good riddance. the mourning
made it wrong. no no no, you’re gone. did
you hear me? should I put it to song? ran
across the floor, slipped, split open my chin,
band aid two weeks, embarrassing; can they
tell I have sinned? your voice is a bug. flies
through my ears. drones on; and on; and
on; please, please. No! I say, but you tell me
I am wrong. my mother didn’t see, is that
how you convinced her and me that you
were like a father all along? vile, vain, scum.
my anger grips me in the valley of my
shame, my mind is a slum. I hear your name
drum, drum, drum. a heartbeat in my mind. a
sick taste on my tongue. I want to brush my
teeth, clean away all the sons that make me
feel this way, but day; by day; by day; I sit in
the valley in the sun. sing away my dignity.
hang my beads on a tree like a witch.