Let Me Explain

Kathleen Nalley

how she became. It was 1973. There was a tree. There was
lightning. There was a noose. And a knife. There was a butcher
block and a rack of ribs. There was a hidden back room. There was
daylight coming through drawn blinds. There were thunderclaps.
There was a moan and a whimper. There were white knuckles and
runny mouths. There was throbbing. There was gnashing of teeth,
speaking in tongues. There were no witnesses. There was release
and retraction. There was a prayer of Thanksgiving, a green apple,
a bruised pear. There was bread to soak up the blood.

© Kathleen Nalley

=====

Kathleen Nalley is the author of Nesting Doll (winner of the S.C. Poetry Initiative Prize), and American Sycamore (Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has recently appeared in storySouth, Night Block, The Bitter Southerner, Melancholy Hyperbole, and Night Owl, as well as in the Kakalak 2014 Anthology. She holds an MFA from Converse College and teaches literature and writing at Clemson University.