The girl arranges a tea party on her front lawn with a card table and
action figures and Precious Moments statuettes that she took from
the house, though her mother told her not to (The girl does not fear
her mother.) Each guest has a cigarette and a shot glass that she
took from the den, though her father would be angry. (The girl
does not fear her father.) She eats snack cakes with her hands and
plops her elbows on the table, though the sisters would say that
rude children are displeasing to God. (The girl does not fear God.)
She burps and lies back in the grass, the mess blowing all around
the yard, though she has been told that idleness is the devil’s work.
(The girl does not fear the devil.) She lies there for hours, watches
black clouds tease the horizon, promising storm. (The girl does not
fear storms.) A crooked finger of lightning reaches down and
strikes the table. Her whole body hums.
 
 
 

---

Donna Vorreyer’s first full-length poetry collection, A House of Many Windows, is now available from Sundress Publications. Her work has appeared in many journals including Rhino, Linebreak, Cider Press Review, Stirring, Sweet, wicked alice, and Weave. Her latest chapbook, We Build Houses of Our Bodies was also released in 2013 by Dancing Girl Press. Visit her online at www.donnavorreyer.com