“amazing opportunity”
is always within sight.
Why can’t she ever
get things right?
Dad believes she came
into the world hungry
to break rules, argue.
Instigate a fight.
She has a short fuse
too easy to ignite.
Mom, who is gentler,
and carried her for nine
months, thinks of Kristina
in a different light.
She was a special child.
Beautiful. Talented. Bright.
I mostly only see her on
holidays. She has a truck-
driver mouth. Smokes too
much, is wound too tight.
Like a hummingbird,
denied the freedom of flight.
Autumn
CHANGE IS COMING
The surety of that has augered
its way into my brain, stirring up
all those buried childhood fears. I
deal with the uncertainty of tomorrow
by über-controlling today.
Which means getting up an hour