Photo by Paulius Dragunas on Unsplash
what is the name of your birth-town
how long did you live there
what is the name of the street you grew up on
how many were there (when did you lose count)
what is your mother’s maiden name
where does she use it (what year did it change)
how many does she have now
do you share a name with your mother
was loneliness your childhood pet
what elementary school(s) did you attend
how quickly can you pack a bedroom
who was your childhood hero
who held you down
what was the name of the city
whose eyes are looking down at you
where did your father touch you
how much can you remember
whose stairs did you vomit on
how many siblings do you have
how long have you known them
what happened in your first car
whose drugs did your mother do
list them in a sentence
did she share them with you
how much weight did you lose
when did it return
how many men
whose gun sat in your drawer
what flowers were blooming
which neighbor knocked and knocked
what book did your lover recommend
how long before you heard rumor of her hands
whose throat did she wrap them around
why not yours (did she ever get the chance)
Scarlett Peterson is poet, essayist, and lesbian. She is currently working on her PhD at Georgia State University. She received her MFA at Georgia College. Her work can be found in Moon City Review, The Lavender Review, Cosmonauts Avenue, Peculiar, Pidgeonholes, Gargoyle Magazine, Ponder Review, Madcap Review, Counterclock Journal, The Shore, Poetry Online, Skink Beat Review, Eunoia Review, and more.