After each episode, I imagine a young her
bounding to some rusted bike and blazing
through the streets, desperately in search
of Hopalong’s Wild West on the TV.
Sometimes, in dreams, I’m there, too,
watching her small hands pressed
against a black-and-white screen.
But something isn’t right.
This carnivorous thing is here, around
the corner. I want to call out, Turn around!
I want to promise that life can keep going
if you only look this way.
But my grandmother’s back stays turned
to what’s coming. She can’t hear the hissing.
Bryanna Licciardi has received her MFA in poetry from Emerson College. Her debut chapbook SKIN SPLITTING is out from Finishing Line Press (2017). She is a multi-Pushcart Prize nominee, and co-curates a local poetry reading series, founded by the Murfreesboro Poet Laureate. Her work appears in journals such as Poetry Quarterly, BlazeVOX, Peacock Journal, Adirondack Review, and Cleaver Magazine. Check out www.bryannalicciardi.com for more.