prodigal daughter
Dale Cottingham
roma sat watching her coffee cool
the dark elixir steaming
into slanted afternoon light
granting her a sense of exhalation
unspooling something too tightly wound
by the day soon to give way
to darkness quilted by stars
she’d never learned the names of
he came in to cut a slice of bread
for strength to finish righting a rafter
saying nothing not thinking of her
sitting alone till she spoke
i got a call a bit ago they let her out
she’ll be home tomorrow night
he paused to let her words soak in
like the rain they’d waited for
while the cat curled as silently
against his leg till he asked
what did they say is she ok
i was too surprised to ask
not hearing a thing for weeks
i guess she’s well enough to let her go
the cat mewed spooling his ankle
as if to wind him up as he spoke
well it would be helpful for us
to know what she’s contended with
and what her condition is
i’ve heard they’ve had
success with electroshock
was she in some kind of confinement
which may have built her anger up
are they giving her drugs to settle her down
what instructions do they have for us
what is she to eat how is she to sleep
should we leave her alone
it’s too late to call them back today
i’ll try tomorrow morning
have you been in her room
i’d not been up there since she left
i just was maybe that’s
what put me in this mood
there’s dust everywhere
i’m not up for cleaning this minute
so i came down for a rest
you seem like you’ve resigned yourself
to wear this like a millstone
i keep remembering
her weeks of sullenness alone in her room
such a young lady should be gay
about her prospects but she left
her hair and clothes unkempt
then came at me with a knife
over what i don’t even remember
and you called the sheriff
i had to we could not live
not knowing what she might do at any hour
when she might come against us
who have been closest to her all her life
she sipped her coffee
and slurped a bit considering
well i don’t know how she got this way
i just wanted to shake some sense into her
tell her to straighten up
i’d been through so much worse
and never melted down she needs to grow up
the cat unwound from his leg
and lay across the room with an ease
neither of them had felt in years
i’ve thought about that but it seems to me
that she has an inner imbalance
like a mold that if not addressed
spoils the bread
she needs our help
but she’s our own flesh and blood
doesn’t she reflect on us
perhaps but what we do
reflects on us too
well it seems to me she just needs
to decide to do better
that sounds simple to say
but perhaps not to do
with demons controlling your mind
roma seemed to him unmoved
though she got up washed her cup
trudged up the stairs
while the cat eyed him
seeming to ask a question
to which he had no answer
Dale Cottingham
roma sat watching her coffee cool
the dark elixir steaming
into slanted afternoon light
granting her a sense of exhalation
unspooling something too tightly wound
by the day soon to give way
to darkness quilted by stars
she’d never learned the names of
he came in to cut a slice of bread
for strength to finish righting a rafter
saying nothing not thinking of her
sitting alone till she spoke
i got a call a bit ago they let her out
she’ll be home tomorrow night
he paused to let her words soak in
like the rain they’d waited for
while the cat curled as silently
against his leg till he asked
what did they say is she ok
i was too surprised to ask
not hearing a thing for weeks
i guess she’s well enough to let her go
the cat mewed spooling his ankle
as if to wind him up as he spoke
well it would be helpful for us
to know what she’s contended with
and what her condition is
i’ve heard they’ve had
success with electroshock
was she in some kind of confinement
which may have built her anger up
are they giving her drugs to settle her down
what instructions do they have for us
what is she to eat how is she to sleep
should we leave her alone
it’s too late to call them back today
i’ll try tomorrow morning
have you been in her room
i’d not been up there since she left
i just was maybe that’s
what put me in this mood
there’s dust everywhere
i’m not up for cleaning this minute
so i came down for a rest
you seem like you’ve resigned yourself
to wear this like a millstone
i keep remembering
her weeks of sullenness alone in her room
such a young lady should be gay
about her prospects but she left
her hair and clothes unkempt
then came at me with a knife
over what i don’t even remember
and you called the sheriff
i had to we could not live
not knowing what she might do at any hour
when she might come against us
who have been closest to her all her life
she sipped her coffee
and slurped a bit considering
well i don’t know how she got this way
i just wanted to shake some sense into her
tell her to straighten up
i’d been through so much worse
and never melted down she needs to grow up
the cat unwound from his leg
and lay across the room with an ease
neither of them had felt in years
i’ve thought about that but it seems to me
that she has an inner imbalance
like a mold that if not addressed
spoils the bread
she needs our help
but she’s our own flesh and blood
doesn’t she reflect on us
perhaps but what we do
reflects on us too
well it seems to me she just needs
to decide to do better
that sounds simple to say
but perhaps not to do
with demons controlling your mind
roma seemed to him unmoved
though she got up washed her cup
trudged up the stairs
while the cat eyed him
seeming to ask a question
to which he had no answer
