When Did She Know

                       by Elaine Reardon


she was in trouble?
First time she was six,
they ran from her dad

late one night, stayed in the
small out of town motel room,
with hardly any traffic coming by.

Her dad burst into their motel
room, wild eyed and shouting,
threatened her mom, and
carried her sister out of their lives.

Was it later, when mom's new
boyfriend climbed into her room
through the porch window
saying shhhh, don't tell?


* * * * *

Elaine Reardon is a writer, herbalist, and artist and educator. Her first chapbook, The Heart is a Nursery For Hope, won first honors from Flutter Press in 2016, and her second chapbook, Look Behind You, was also published in late 2019 by Flutter Press. Most recently Elaine's work was published in The Common, Galway Review, Pensive Journal, and similar journals. A new chapbook, Stories Told in a Lost Tongue was published by Finishing Line Press in September 2024. www.elainereardon.wordpress.com.