24

For Lily

As a baby, Lily was soft and small
Cruelly tortured from the inside out
Revealed only when mites broke through the skin's wall
So gentle, so small, calm despite the pain

Poked and prodded, poor Lily had no peace
These wounds refreshed to prolong Lily's life
Cuts were opened and reopened for weeks
Fighting an invisible enemy

Later cut to pieces through surgery
Lily was so young, had to fight so much
Only familiar with illness, instinct
Rules (life with pain is better than no life)

With time, Lily did grow strong and healthy
Then allergies arose: so long Lily!
-KM

When I was young we
lived in the trailer on the end
of old branch road with
plastic pink flamingos

my mother would put me in a
styrofoam cooler
with the bunnies and they would
cross over my body.

Later, as a teenager I had a
black rabbit with soft ears that
fell around his eyes.
He would nibble my wet hair.

My second shadow, making a halo
in small brown poop around my feet.
-Hannah