Your words sound like my grandmother’s now
she speaks with her dead voice from your vocal cords
the sharp vowels try to pin my conscience
strong consonants devalue my power
the words themselves leak resin—
wife and children—escape her teeth
trying to catch me she cannot understand
I don’t want either
Her pyramid-scheme
of love is ancient. She drives to me
with prayer and I turn her away with fire.
John Kucera was educated at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work has appeared in Silver Blade Magazine and New Reader Magazine. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.