One day the music Was loud enough and the Rhythm strong enough to Push her too far into the Night To ever turn back. She is my flesh and blood, Big boned as I am big boned Uncomfortable in Her skin. Now she lives in shadow and memory Her mind a cluttered shelf In a narrow hallway closet Her life is a tattered volume of fading Photos, brown edged and crumbling Some hopelessly stuck together In her quiet times, between the pain Of her newfound wilderness and the Rage of not knowing who she is She sorts the pictures, putting faces With times, times with places Sometimes, away from the girls who People her life, she cries in the darkness Thin shoulders, no longer straining Against the twisted bra straps Hunch forward. Dark hands twist Her half-empty cup Nervously as she waits for the silence To stop its threats For the talking to start the day. “Morning, Miss Ruby.” “Go on, child.” “How you feeling today?” “You know, there ain’t no need complaining.” “You want some eggs?”
