Secret Origins
my stepsister made elaborate runaway maps
the street names misspelled or unfamiliar
far from my realm of movement
i would tell her they were wrong. (they were.)
i skipped rope
alone
one end tied to the tree at the base of our driveway.
i had to stop to let people walk by
eyes cast low at sidewalk cracks.
lonely only city kid.
i never strayed very far.
i played with dolls.
i gave them boyfriends, parties, jobs.
i was always bored.
i watched TV with hooded lids
suspicious
of unreliable narrators,
lawful good heroes.
i didn’t want to get my hopes up.
—STEPHANIE EARP
(Originally published summer, 2003.)
