like Grandfather will share information.
Reno? Maybe. But it’s a big place,
and Nevada is bigger. And why
think she still lives there? Besides,
I don’t even know her name.
I wonder
if she
remembers mine.
Maybe she’s dead. Disabled.
Brain fried too crispy to even try
to stop by and say hello for fifteen
years. I was two when Aunt Cora
took custody of me, which was just
about the time the State of Nevada
took custody of my parents. Locked
them up that time for a couple of years.
Aunt Cora says
the monster
swallowed them.
THE MONSTER
Is what they called their crystal.
We learned about it in school.
How it messes up your brain.
Makes your teeth go rotten.
Blasts caustic chemicals
through arteries and veins.
How just a little spoonful
keeps you up for days,
no desire for food, high
until you crash. Nosedive.