by Whitney Rio-Ross

I am the first lie your mother told you. I am two
tongues tied in a word. I am evening slur
and morning confession, love buckled
somewhere between. I am shattered chandelier.
I am cheated ransom. I am gulley, hillside, shoreline
stretched beyond your memory. I am forsaken
china, missed pills, a thousand unspoken apologies.
I am half-answered prayers from a flea-market rosary.
I am charred, kept, caught—the only truth
you’ve ever known.

Whitney Rio-Ross is the author of the chapbook Birthmarks and poetry editor for Fare Forward. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in River Heron Review, Susurrus, Psaltery & Lyre, So to Speak, The Pinch, and elsewhere. You can find her on Twitter @whitlynnrioross and Instagram @whitlynnrioross.