The house, and the ghost of Grandmother, trapped him. Her presence clung with the
leftover nicotine to the walls of every room. A childless marriage and a rancid
divorce left its bile in the scum atop the kitchen counters—rust-rings on
the bathroom’s porcelain. The horse chestnut tree outside the door stood as
an overt warning, pelting anyone trying to enter. I disregarded it.
wisteria
uproots the moss laced lawn:
a pet’s gravestone
With steel wool and a strong arm, I whitewashed the house. Grandmother’s spirit
smiled in the spring when new bulbs rose. But, the antique cannon in the front hall
still aimed at the door. The man was too used to his darkness. Love was not enough.
trespassers
are shot on sight:
empties on the stoop
is a healing facilitator specializing in Japanese Shiatsu and Reiki. She writes
for Massage Magazine and aromatherapy publications. She travels the world
to expand her knowledge of healing and to seek writing inspiration. She has walked
the Great Wall of China and has visited Nepal (during the civil war), Japan, Egypt
(two weeks before “The Arab Spring”), Peru, and France (during
December’s terrorist attacks).
Her poetry appears in a range of publications worldwide: here/there:poetry
in the UK; Existere: Journal of Arts and Literature in Canada; Tincture
Journal in Australia; Cha: An Asian Literary Journal in Hong Kong;
Latch Key Tales in New Zealand; and Vine Leaves Literary Journal
in Greece. USA publications include Travel by the Books: A Literary Travel Journal;
Liquid Imagination; Illumen (Alban Lake Publishing); Sweet Dreams and Night
Terrors: An Anthology of Dark Dreamscapes and Seductive Terrors (Silent Fray,
July 2014); Dead Snakes; The Literary Hatchet; and others.
