Denial
Denial isn’t
A river in Eypgt if
you’re swimming it….
The Zombie Apocalypse Came
You and I were not supposed to be friends
It was through our broken we stitched up bandages
made of marijuana, alcohol, methamphatamine and anything
else someone could offer us in exchange for things
teen-aged girls shouldn’t be selling.
After intolerable, I started to get out
you had two birds in your nest born from neglect of the world
not giving their mother refuge from the horror she was born into
but you finally found your way out
and back to nesting
but it would not last.
Before I left for sunnier pastures
you started telling the truth again
letting the sweat and the shakes pour out
in my spare bedroom
I encouraged you to keep coming back
it isn’t easy but it is the only way
but you chose your own option.
You’ve had a few last words:
“Your sister wasn’t very tough, she couldn’t handle the drugs.”
“I heard her youngest was adopted by foster parents.”
Then your picture
Identical to your mother at the age we met:
Dead, vacant eyes,
Swollen alcholic skin
Nothing left of the beauty once there
Just a mimographed copy of a woman
whose choices led to your abuse
who never got different
who never left you better
so you watched it all happen
her stumble-down drunk dance
with the poison which eventually took everything
and in spite of the breadcrumbs and interventions
chose to put on her shoes and walk right in them
Until you’ve stopped walking
consciously
anymore.
Jennie Olson Six 