A House
The orange sign says don’t go in, but momma knows better. We make our beds and wake to a cop in the morning. Momma cries and we leave again.
Twins
The first split is the first time she opens her eyes. She wakes, while the other still sleeps. And they’ve already begun to grow apart.
Up in Smoke
He caught me again. Are you crazy? Jamaican moms do it. My baby’s not Jamaican. Who says it’s yours? He hogged the rest of the bowl.
Ways to Forget
He repeated his name for her, but she simply stared ahead, motionless. He watched their past disintegrate behind her eyes.
Wisdom
“I don’t get it,” I said to my great-great grandmother. “Heaven. It’s just like Wisconsin in the fall.” “You’re an old soul,” she replied.
Homeless
She hid in the darkened alley. When the diner closed and the help went home, she lifted the dumpster lid. Her children would eat tonight.