he sent for her,
my grandmother,
and handed back the prize,
his wife, her child
swollen with what he'd done
faltered children, angry women
holders of ferocious hearts
stared at him to see the guilt
then focused on
the dishes in the sink
August, but I shivered
with the days that orphaned me
water woke me in the morning
Copyright 2004 Jody Serey. All Rights Reserved.