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Anthony Smith Jul 2017
Little Agnes sits alone hugging beloved teddy tight.
The lights have gone, the sun long since fallen.
The sickly odors fill the room.

Creaking floorboards, the foundation settles,
the howling wind and tapping branches.
A shudder deep traces her spine.

Mommy had gone away again. Off to work she claims.
Agnes knows the truth, one she mustn't share.
She knows more than she ought, costing precious sleep.

The minutes drag on, each an hour long
whispers of her mind growing stronger.
The words have formed, now to invoke.

Majka živi, ​​majka saznaje.
Ovo je igra koju neću igrati.

Round and round, Agnes chants.
Again and again the words repeat.
Echos shake the walls; rattle her soul.

Precious child, corrupted now.
Mr. Teddy begins to grow.

Eyes glow crimson, fangs sharpened.
Ears pull back as rumble becomes growl
Teddy will keep her safe, at the peril of those who would disagree.

The door **** turns, creaking hinges
announcing mommy's return.
She calls for little Agnes, summoning to her side.

Tonight Agnes does not respond, does not come.
Holler again to no avail, mommy begins to search.

Down the hallway, second on the right.
Reach for the handle that meets with mommy's hip
as the door bursts to splinters.

Mr. Teddy is on duty, mommy screams amidst the fangs and claws
ripping at the flesh.
Pain and terror overcome as she gazes past her demise, little Agnes sitting there with her baby blue eyes.
The last she will ever see as darkness overcomes.
The pain fades, the sounds lost, farther and farther into eternal night.
Mommy breaths no more.

Still Agnes sits, watching her guardian shrink back down.
His eyes dull, fangs recede,
Growl returns to rumble and fades altogether.
His job complete.

Slowly standing, precious Agnes crosses to the door.
She kneels next to mommy and pulls beloved teddy from her chest.
Back to the bed, holding teddy tight.
Agnes breathes a sigh of relief and calmly falls asleep.
Sally A Bayan May 2020
SHE
Memories of this lady never leave my mind.
she wasn't a rider, but acted better than one,
riding high above many hurdles in life...fear
never took her away from her responsibilities...

when the fuse in the main switch gave
way, and dimmed the old house, this lady
braved the dark...armed with a flashlight
and pliers, she replaced the burnt fuse with
a new one and brought light back.....each
time the old-fashioned flat iron overheated,
she easily replaced the glass-like insulator  
inside, so it could right away be used again...

whatever needed repair---garment, tools,
the fence, the house...ripped, or with holes,
she mended and patched...even blind-hemmed
a torn relationship once...yes, she mended
cracks...was always in the midst of broken
vases, gluing pieces back together, so she
may put water and lovely flowers in it...

nothing was impossible for this gentle lady...
she moved mountains for her loved ones,
always persevering and ingenious, life
became less difficult...she painted their
young minds with a mix of hues,
so they may appreciate and be
grateful for rainbows and yellow sunrises,
learn to accept black, gray, unhappy moments,
and be thrilled by fiery orange sunsets....

this lady is indispensable...and irreplaceable,
SHE, and others like her, are called mama,
muter, mom, mum, majka, inay/nanay, mae,
matka, madre, mom....ahh, the list is long...


Sally

Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
May, 8, 2020
(SHE... was our late mama.)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS OUT THERE!!!
Amela Kovacevic Jun 2018
The only gold I could afford
fell from the feeble ring finger of
majka stara.
Concealed from landless theives of
Slovenian camps,
its bent black beauty
stands a year away from
naturalization,
a year in which it means
the least.

— The End —