She Makes a Mess

Laura Brzyski

Arielle and I throw orange
slices behind Grammy’s couch.
She makes a mess, I think
of my cousin, even though I am
in on the crime. Guilty by participation. 

When we grow up, we peel
ourselves from the couch for work
or school or some place else. I am still
platinum blonde and uptight,
she tattooed with laughing Buddha. 

We bury people we love, and parts
of us get left behind, forgotten. We don’t know
if Grammy finds them. We never ask, never
own up. We don’t ever bother
to glance behind us. 

Laura Brzyski is a writing professor, private tutor, and freelance journalist who lives in Philadelphia (not a suburb of) with her husband and their dog, Bogey. @elbrisk