Page 6 of The Secret to Belonging

your heart is bruised from knocking against it

the doors are warped

the hinges rusty

the latch stays bolted

they’re like baby birds, your parents

blind and naked in the nest

crying with their mouths open to the sky

waiting to be fed

and your brother feeds them

this business with the police?

just a big misunderstanding

not his fault

he took one for the team

fell on his sword

was trying to help a friend

he’s an innocent bystander

wrongly accused

(it’s never his fault

it’s always the pig cop

the Nazi teacher

the asshole boss

it’s amazing

how many raw deals he’s gotten

in his relatively short life)

the inside of your closet door is plastered

with calendar pages covered in little square boxes

each box is a day

each day is an eternity

each night you cross one out

one day closer to graduation