Sister in Memoir
– By Annette Januzzi Wick
Sometimes, I begin with my father’s belt
and her blue and black-welted thighs
then I’ll scratch that, thinking
that’s not fair, or siblings
might complain or deny
the BIG TRUTH to save the little one.
Or I re-imagine her in tap lessons
when I desired those long bruised legs
that stretched across
“The Sunny Side of the Street.”
Or I’ll use the teaser,
“Left alone
in cramped confines
with only alcohol to drink.”
Or maybe, “She used to be
an alcoholic —
now she’s just disabled.”
I might leave the reader
hanging for a while
upside down in our
childhood apple tree
with its rubbled bark
blood rushing to the head
clenched fingers turning blue
wondering at what point
the writer will allow
the reader —
and my sister —
to swing in the breeze
with rumpled leaves
and then …
drop from grace.
POEM / Annette Januzzi Wick is a local writer, blogger and community builder. Visit annettejanuzziwick.com to learn more about connecting in community through creativity.
PICTURE / Sara Caswell-Pearce, “Solo,” mixed media collage. Pearce is a Cincinnati-based journalist, fine artist, graphic designer and printer.
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