free-write 11/10 – eva heisler

She’s only told me about the good memories with her father when she was a child 

She was the first-born and he adored her — there are pictures to prove it

He held her and smiled at the camera — a smile that is now hard to capture

He used to take pictures with his old Canon, and of her there are more than any of the other siblings

Was it a reflection of their relationship or just of his hobby at the time?

Her story so easily and conveniently rewritten through his words and old photographs

She remembers one night: crying, slashes from a belt hit her tiny body

Was it a dream? The only one of its kind.

Peculiar her siblings never had these dreams

Dreams states, coping mechanisms

Hard to decipher our hidden realities

One runs the risk of moral defeat

But also the reward of compassionate clarity


assignment – stephen dunn poem

pressure from all points

prickling, pleading, pinning

busy and bustling

kicking the calm

a trying introvert

flailing and failing

someone else is in the house

quiet and subtle

leaving traces

of pitted stomachs

and stolen trust

i want to be alone with my lover

but am caught up with the world

inside and out

of my flat

of my mind

creating distance

but from the wrong things

and for the wrong reasons

some things i want to say to you

but i can’t