As if
there were a massacre–
scorch marks
pieces of wood
long and blackened
like bones
torn clothing
dangling
on broken branches
trash and beer cans
old, stale food…
I ask
who slept in the rain,
climbed Jacob’s ladder,
and escaped?
Valerie Stoyva was born in San Francisco and grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where she currently lives with her three children, the oldest of whom was born in Turkey. She attended Knox College and the University of Michigan. She teaches in high school and preschool classrooms. She is currently reading a book on Emily Dickinson, Lives Like Loaded Guns, and spent her summer rereading Dostoyevsky novels.
Photographer’s Note: I think every community has a Creek Path. This photo made me think of the sadness that lives there. But at least the poem ends with an escape.